Temporary Home
by TheBeautifulNerd
Summary: When she was a baby, Lily was abandoned on a doorstep of a random house. That house just happened to be the home of Caleb Knight. Now twenty six years later, Lily is still living with the guy she grew up with and then Cal's troubled, younger brother, Ethan shows up out of the blue.
1. Meetings and Appointments

**I don't tend to write much about Cal and Ethan but I do like them. This idea came off the top of my head but I thought it could work quite well. I hope you like it :)**

Chapter One: Meetings and Appointments

"Lily! We have to go!" Cal shouted up the stairs, whilst running a hand through his hair. He was in the middle of trying to find his jacket and it was no where in sight. "Lily!" He yelled again, moving to the bottom of the stairs so that she was able to hear him. "Come on, you know it's your meeting with Connie today! We need to be there on time!"

"I'm coming!" Lily eventually yelled back and appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing the jacket that Cal had been looking for. "I hate these meetings with Connie," she pouted. "They're pointless."

"They're not pointless," Cal sighed. "And can I have my jacket back please? I've just been looking for that."

"Come on," Lily whined. "You know I like this jacket."

"Yes well it's mine," Cal said. "Come on. Let me have it." Lily rolled her eyes and slipped the jacket off, handing it over to Cal. "Thank you," Cal thanked her. "We're already late so let's hurry it up a bit, yeah? Have you got everything?"

"Yes," Lily answered. "Let's just go. You're beginning to annoy me."

"What about the work that Connie got you to do? Have you got that?" Cal asked. Lily stopped at the door before turning round to race back upstairs. "I didn't think so," Cal muttered under his breath. "I'll meet you by the car!" He called and left to go outside.

The mornings were always tough. Cal had never been much of a morning person but Lily had slowly started to get worst and he found himself having to wake her up every single day. Some days weren't so bad, not when she was having to stay at the hospital overnight. Lily was soon ready though and they were soon on their way to work.

"Right. What time's your appointment?" Cal sighed, as he pulled into the car park.

"Five minutes," Lily answered, glancing at her watch.

"Right on time," Cal said, sounding quite pleased with himself. "You go and find Connie then and I am going to grab a coffee because I'm totally exhausted. I'll see you later though, yeah?"

"Yeah," Lily replied and climbed out of the car. She slammed the door shut and headed into the ED.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to be here on time," Connie said, walking over to her. "How are you doing, my lovely?" She asked, stroking her hair and giving her a hug. "Shall we go to your room and we can start?"

"Sure," Lily said and followed Connie to the room that Lily usually stayed the night in.

"Take a seat," Connie said, gesturing to one of the chairs at the table. Lily sat down and placed her bag on the floor whilst Connie sat at the other end of the table, rifling through Lily's pile of notes. "Did you do the work I set for you?" Lily nodded and bent down to take her plastic folder out of her bag, setting it down on the table. "Brilliant." Connie smiled. "How did you find it?"

Lily shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Okay," Connie said. "Do you mind going over this with me today?"

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Do I really have a choice?" She asked.

"Right then," Connie laughed. "Let's see what you've done."

"I did the emotions task that you told me to do," Lily sighed, taking out one sheet of paper and handing it over to Connie. "I ticked all of the emotions that I feel when I get angry and I wrote down a list of things to put in my memory box."

"Do you think the memory box is a good idea?" Connie asked and Lily nodded. "Because I think you can be very creative with that and it'll help you smile when you need to." She began to scan the list of items that Lily had written down. "What about things from your childhood?" Connie suggested.

"I only have one thing," Lily sighed, fiddling with the gold star necklace that was hanging around her neck. "I'd rather not put it in the box."

Connie's eyes travelled to her necklace and she smiled. "Your necklace?" She asked and Lily nodded. "Well, you don't have to put it in the box if you don't want to. It's your choice, Lily." She paused for a second before saying, "it's special to you, isn't it?"

Lily nodded. "It's the most precious thing that I own."

"Well then." Connie smiled. "I think you ought to hang onto it. Have you got any photos from your childhood, maybe of you and Cal?"

"No," Lily sighed. "Cal isn't my proper family."

"I can always help you look for some bits," Connie said, deciding that a change of subject was probably best. "Um...How did you sleep last night anyway?" Lily shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "Not good then, I take it."

"Not the best," Lily sighed, fiddling with her glasses. "Nightmares again."

"Did you take your sleeping pills?" Connie asked and Lily nodded. "Okay," Connie sighed. "Maybe we should look at you spending a few more nights here again."

"No," Lily refused. "I'm okay with Cal."

"It was just a thought," Connie said.

"Connie!" Rita's voice came and she immediately burst into the room. "Sorry," she sighed. "Major RTC coming in. We need all hands on deck if possible."

"I'll be right there," Connie promised and Rita hurried off. "Why don't...Why don't you do some more sheets for me?" Connie asked, rummaging through the papers that she was holding. "Stay in here and I um...I'll come and check on you later."

"Are you going to lock the door again?" Lily whispered, picking up a pen.

"You know I'll have to," Connie said and she stood up and walked out of the room.

Lily sighed heavily to herself, listening as she heard the door shut behind her with a small click.

 **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :)**


	2. Reunited

**Guest: Haha me too, I just love their friendship :)**

 **ETWentHome: Lots more of Lily's backstory to come :)**

 **LillyMayFlower: Thank you. I always love it when you review my work, it means the world to me. Thank you :)**

 **Tato Potato: You'll soon see :)**

 **kirstieworm1999: Thank you. I'm glad you like it :)**

 **Thanks for all the reviews on the first chapter guys. Lots more of this story to come :)**

Chapter Two: Reunited

Ethan Hardy shoved a load of books into a backpack before swinging it onto his back. His alcoholic dad was slouched in the armchair in the corner of the living room, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, an empty bottle of beer sitting in his lap. Ethan sighed and shook his head, grabbing his dad's pack of cigarettes from the coffee table in the middle of the room. With a loud slam of the door, he was out the house.

Ethan's parents divorced when he was just a baby. His parents fought constantly so whilst his mum kept Cal with her, Ethan was forced to go and live with his dad. He got on well with his dad, he got on well with both of his parents, but he missed his mum. Their parents continued to argue and Ethan turned into quite a troublesome child, getting into fights with other children in the playground, shouting at his dad and learning all kinds of swears. His mum was embarrassed and wouldn't let Cal see his brother anymore. She and Cal moved away to start a new life of their own and whenever anyone asked her, Cal was her only child. Ethan was left alone and miserable with his dad with only old memories of Cal and his mum.

Ethan and Cal's mum had been diagnosed with breast cancer and she'd died not so long ago. Ethan couldn't help but feel jealous, he'd heard the news from his dad and he hadn't seemed to care. Cal had got to see her one last time but Ethan hadn't even got the chance. Their mum's illness changed the families lives for good, casting a terrible darkness over each and every one of them. The worst thing was that Ethan could probably walk by his own mum and brother in the street and not even recognise them.

Ethan longed for his own place. His dad hadn't coped too well with the divorce so even when he went to university to study medicine, he stayed at home to look after his father. Now, he was twenty nine years old and he'd just got a new job at Holby City Emergency Department. He felt that it was time to move out.

It was his first day of work that day and although he was excited, he was nervous. He'd wanted to be a doctor for as long as he could remember and he felt that it could be a fresh start for him. He hopped on the bus and took a seat right at the front, anxiously watching the other passengers. He often sat near the front, in case someone pulled out a knife or the bus suddenly set fire. At least then he could make a quick escape. He shoved his earphones in and listened to his music until the bus pulled up outside Holby City.

Taking a deep breath, he got off and headed into the Emergency Department.

"For the last time, you will have to wait," he heard a lady yell, as he walked up to the reception desk. "In case you haven't noticed, we're busy."

Ethan gulped and shoved past the queue of people, staggering nervously to the front of the desk.

"Excuse me?" The receptionist scoffed. "Wait in line like everyone else."

"No um...Louise?" He said, reading her name tag. "I'm Ethan Hardy. I um...I'm the new doctor here. I was told that I needed to speak to a Mrs Beauchamp, is it?"

"Why didn't you say so?" Louise asked and picked up the phone. "I'll just get her for you. Take a seat."

Ethan raised his eyebrows and sat down on one of the waiting room chairs, holding his backpack across his lap. He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, flinching as someone brushed past his shoulder.

"Doctor Hardy!" Someone called and Ethan stood up to see a tall woman with long, brown hair walking towards him. "Connie Beauchamp. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too," he said politely and held out his hand for a handshake.

"You will be working with Caleb today," Connie said, writing something down on the clipboard that she was holding. "So you'll be in good hands."

"Caleb?" Ethan frowned at her.

"Yes," Connie said, glancing up from her clipboard briefly. "Is that a problem?"

"No." Ethan shook his head. "Just...Just an unusual name, that's all."

"Right." Connie raised her eyebrows. "If you say so. Well, I'm sure you two will get along...If he ever gets here. I told him he was to meet us at reception, but I'm not surprised. Never mind. We can wait another five minutes." Ethan nodded, still frowning slightly. "Where has that boy got to?" Connie whispered, lowering her clipboard slightly.

"Mrs Beauchamp!" Someone called and a man walked over. Ethan composed himself and put on a fake smile, standing up straight.

"Doctor Knight," Connie greeted and turned to Ethan. "This is Caleb Knight. Cal, this is Ethan Hardy."

"What?" Cal and Ethan both said in unison, looking each other up and down.

The two boys hadn't seen each other since they were children but hearing their names introduced like that, they knew that they had now met again.

"Ethan," Cal whispered.

"Cal," Ethan whispered back, unsure of what to say.

"Okay," Connie laughed. "What is going on here?"

"This is...Ethan..." Cal spoke slowly. "My little brother."

"Brothers?" Connie asked. "This isn't going to be a problem for me, is it?"

"No," Cal and Ethan answered at the exact same time again. "Can we have a minute, Mrs Beauchamp?" Cal asked. Connie hesitated but sighed and nodded, before walking away. "What...What are you doing here?" Cal asked. "I...I haven't seen you since..."

"You were one," Ethan finished for him and fiddled with his glasses. "I was just a baby. I work here now. I um...I didn't know you did as well."

"Yeah, I do," Cal replied. "Did you hear about mum?"

"I heard," Ethan said. "Just...Just upset that I couldn't see her before she died."

"How's dad?" Cal asked and Ethan just shrugged his shoulders. "It um...It's good to see you again, little bro?"

"You too," Ethan said. "Growing up without you and mum was hard. Have I...Have I missed much?"

"Oh believe me," Cal laughed. "You have missed an awful lot."

 **That was quite hard writing a whole chapter based on Ethan, haha. I hope it was okay though :)**


	3. The Tour

**ETWentHome: It will mean a lot of change :)**

 **Tato Potato: Thank you :)**

 **CBloom2: Yeah, me too :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: That's alright. I'm glad you like the idea. There will be some struggles for the two men :)**

 **scarlettmitchell1995: They will meet in this chapter :)**

Chapter Three: The Tour

"It's kind of weird," Cal said, as he and Ethan walked through the corridors of the ED. "After being apart for so long. Don't get me wrong, I like having you here. You're my brother. I'll introduce you to everyone first and then you can meet Lily."

"Who?" Ethan asked.

"My sort of sister," Cal laughed, receiving a very confused look from Ethan. "She lives with me, has done ever since she was a baby. She was abandoned on our doorstep so Mum and I kind of took her in."

"That's awful, and you're still living together?" Ethan questioned.

"Yeah." Cal nodded. "We're good friends, I mean we grew up together. Lily doesn't have any family. She was an only child, she never knew her dad and her mum killed herself when she was eleven."

"Why?" Ethan asked, intrigued by the woman who Cal called his sister.

"She got psychotic episodes," Cal said. "When Lily was old enough to understand, she decided that she wanted to track down her real mum. Finding out she was mentally ill was hard on Lily but finding out that she had committed suicide by hanging herself in the kitchen was even harder. Her mum lived alone, she wasn't found for eight weeks."

"Did Lily take it badly?"

"Well, who wouldn't?" Cal scoffed. "She didn't know her mum, then she goes and finds out that she killed herself. She blamed herself, still does, she even ran away at one point. She was just a little kid. Her poor childhood has caused problems though, problems that probably can never be fixed."

"Poor Lily," Ethan said sympathetically.

"I probably shouldn't be telling you these things," Cal said. "Lily is quite a private person. Just don't mention it to her, that way you won't be in any awkward situations and I won't get my head bitten off. Literally."

"Got it," Ethan chuckled. "This is nice. It's just like old times."

"Is living with Dad hard?" Cal asked.

"Yeah," Ethan sighed. "I'm currently looking for my own place though. I don't really know how much more I can take of his constant binge drinking."

"Why don't you stay with me for a few days?" Cal asked. "Just until you get yourself sorted. Lily won't mind, I'll explain things to her."

"Would that be okay?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah," Cal said and folded his arms across his chest. "I know what Dad is like."

"Thanks Cal," Ethan thanked him. "That'd mean a lot. Thank you."

Cal smiled at him. The two of them carried on walking, coming face to face with Lily and Connie.

"You've already met Connie," Cal said. "And this is Lily, the one I told you about." Ethan nodded and Cal turned to Connie. "I'm just introducing him to everyone. I see Lily is behaving, that's a good sign."

"Trust me, she wasn't earlier," Connie sighed. "Which is why she's having to follow me around like some kind of puppy."

"Really?" Cal laughed.

"Doctor Knight, what does it mean when I say don't hit people?" Connie asked.

"Um..." Cal looked confused. "Don't hit people. That's basically what it means, the meaning is in the words."

"Would you care explaining it to your sister?" Connie asked, gesturing to Lily.

"He's not my brother," Lily mumbled, glaring at both Cal and Ethan.

"Well, Cal," Connie said, his eyes fixated on Cal. "Would you mind explaining it to her regardless?"

"What's happened?" Cal asked, a concerned look upon his face. "Have you been acting out again, Lily?"

"I asked her to do one thing for me," Connie said. "One thing and she just started treating me like her own personal punching bag. I'd told her to stop and not to hit people but what does she do? Does she stop? No, she goes and carries on."

"Who's he?" Lily asked, her eyes on Ethan, completely ignoring Connie's rant.

"This is Ethan Hardy," Cal introduced.

"Hi I'm..." Ethan held out his hand to shake, starting to introduce himself.

"The new doctor," Cal cut him off, receiving a couple of looks from Connie and Ethan. "I um...I've been asked to show him around. He's going to be working as a registrar."

"Um...That...That's right..." Ethan stammered, keeping his arm out in front of him.

"Put it down," Cal whispered. "Lily doesn't do handshakes."

"Unless you want a face full of fist," Connie muttered under her breath, glancing down at her mobile phone as a next text came through. Cal and Lily both heard her but luckily, Ethan didn't. "Right. You carry on showing Doctor Hardy around then, I have work to do."

"Will do," Cal promised.

"Walk," Connie ordered Lily in a stern tone, pushing her forwards a little bit. Lily threw her hair back and groaned but walked away, Connie following.

"Why didn't you tell Lily I was your brother?" Ethan asked, when they were out of sight.

"I will mention it," Cal said. "At some point. I just don't want Lily to freak out and if she's already had a bad day, then...I'd rather not set her off again. I'm just waiting for the right time."

"Okay. She's a little harsh on her, isn't she?" Ethan said to Cal and raised an eyebrow. "Mrs Beauchamp, I mean. Isn't she a bit harsh with Lily?"

"Lily is difficult," Cal chuckled. "You heard what Mrs Beauchamp said about Lily lashing out and hitting people, didn't you? She needs discipline or she'll never listen."

"What is she like at home?" Ethan questioned.

Cal smiled. "If you're worried about coming to live with us then you really shouldn't be. She's like a sister to me, she wouldn't hurt my brother."

"That sounded nice." Ethan smiled back at him.

"What?" Cal asked.

"My brother," Ethan said. "I like it."

"Come on," Cal said and patted him on the shoulder. "We need to finish the tour."


	4. Bad Behaviour

**Tato Potato: Me too, that was a sweet line :)**

 **ETWentHome: I love my Connie and Lily scenes, I need to write more stories about their friendship :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: They do. You'll soon see Lily's reaction :)**

Chapter Four: Bad Behaviour

"I never pictured you working in a hospital," Ethan said to Cal as they stood in cubicles treating a patient. Cal chuckled and glanced towards Rita who was stood helping him. Ethan was taking the opportunity to watch before being thrown into the deep end. "I guess we both take after Mum."

"I guess we do," Cal said with a smile.

Matilda had been a doctor herself and all her life she dreamed that her children would become doctor's. It meant everything to her and Cal knew that she'd be proud of them both.

"You never mentioned you had a brother," Rita put in. "What other secrets are you hiding from us?"

"None," Cal laughed. "I promise."

"Cal!" Lofty's voice called and soon he appeared at the entrance to the cubicle. "Sorry buddy, Mrs Beauchamp needs your help. It's Lily."

"What's going on?" Cal sighed. "I'm with a patient."

"I um...I don't know the full details," Lofty said, glancing towards Ethan.

"I can take over," Ethan offered.

"Are you sure?" Cal asked cautiously.

"Yeah." Ethan nodded. "Why not? I've been watching you and I studied all this stuff at university. I'll be fine, besides I have the lovely blonde lady to help me."

"You're such a charmer," Rita giggled, patting him playfully on the cheek.

"Go," Ethan encouraged his brother. "I'll be fine."

Cal mouthed a small 'thank you' at him and left the cubicle as quickly as he possibly could, following Lofty to where Connie was. She was sat on a chair with Lily stood between her legs, Zoe and Charlie either side. Lily was struggling in Connie's arms, throwing her head from side to side whilst Charlie attempted to strap the restraint mask to her face.

"Don't use that," Cal ordered, storming over.

"Cal!" Connie yelled over Lily's screams. "She's biting!"

"But she isn't a dog!" Cal yelled back. "Strapping that to her face is just mean."

"Get off of me!" Lily screamed in hysterics, waving her arms about in an attempt to punch Connie, throwing her head around to try and bite her. Connie had a tight grip though and every so often Zoe made a grab for her arms. Lily opened her mouth and screamed a loud, high-pitched scream. Everyone turned their heads to gawp at the site.

"What set her off?" Cal asked.

"No...Idea..." Connie gasped as Lily managed to scratch her. "Just help."

"Lils," Cal said in a soothing tone and crouched down in front of her. "Speak to me. Come on, we don't want Ethan to see you like this on his first day working here. He'll be terrified." He tried to make a joke out of it but Lily carried on screaming and struggling, lashing out to try and hit Cal. "Stop it!" Cal scolded, grabbing hold of her arms. "This was much more easier when she was a child," Cal muttered to Connie. "At least then she was smaller, easier to control." Lily attempted to bite Connie again, not even listening to what Cal was saying.

"Right!" Charlie sighed and stood up straight. "The mask is going on."

He stepped forwards and strapped the mask around Lily's face quickly, doing the clasp up at the back. Lily screamed louder, trying to push the mask off of her face but Connie and Zoe both had hold of her arms.

"Lily," Cal said. "Calm down and they'll take it off."

"No!" Lily yelled, letting out a muffled scream.

"Caleb, could you actually take over?" Connie asked. "Zoe and Charlie will help but it'll just give me a break."

"Sure," Cal agreed. "How long has she been like this?"

"Fifteen, twenty minutes," Zoe replied and shrugged her shoulders.

Connie kept hold of Lily's arms and gently passed her over to Cal. Cal nodded at her and took Connie's place on the chair, whilst Connie stood watching with her hands on her hips.

"Lily!" Cal shouted over the noise. "Lily! This is ridiculous, stop it now. Come on, you're being silly."

"She's getting stronger and stronger," Connie whispered to Zoe, examining the bruise that was beginning to form on her arm. "We need more staff dealing with her."

"No one else is specialised in restraining her," Zoe reminded Connie. "We can't be throwing just anyone into it. When Lily lashes out, she can get dangerous."

"Then we need to be training more members of our team," Connie said. "At the moment it's just us two, Charlie and Cal and considering she needs at least three people that is not enough. We either need to hire someone to deal with her and only her or we need to be training more people."

Connie ran a hand through her hair and turned to see Lily getting weaker and weaker. She was trying to kick Charlie and she had her head resting back against Cal's chest.

"You can probably remove the mask now, Charlie," Connie said.

"If you're sure," Charlie said. He leaned across and unstrapped the restraint mask from Lily's face, carefully placing it on the empty seat beside Cal. Cal had his arms wrapped around her waist and she'd just fallen weakly against him.

"Good girl, Lily," Connie praised, walking over and stroking Lily's hair. "Well done for calming down."

Cal smiled and kissed the top of Lily's head, looking up to see his brother standing across the way watching. He wasn't sure how long Ethan had been stood there for but he looked absolutely petrified.

 **I hope you enjoyed that, let me know what you think :)**


	5. Explanations

**Tato Potato: Yeah let's hope Ethan is okay :)**

 **ETWentHome: Yeah Lily is a struggle to deal with. More to come though so stay tuned :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: I had to do a lot of research on the restraint mask. I can imagine it's an awful thing to go through. I'm really glad you liked the chapter :)**

Chapter Five: Explanations

"Ethan. Are...Are you okay?" Cal asked his brother. Ethan faintly nodded his head, his eyes fixated on where Lily had been sitting. She'd now been dragged off to her room by Connie and Charlie. "Lily isn't that bad at home, trust me. Please just...Don't be scared of her."

"I'm not scared of her," Ethan whispered, without moving his eyes from the spot. "I'm just...Shocked."

"Shocked?" Cal raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah." Ethan nodded. "Um...That...That mask..." He gulped nervously and gestured to his own face.

"Yeah," Cal sighed. "Connie and Charlie got it from the psych ward. If Lily gets really upset and angry, she bites. It's meant to stop her and it does, but...It...It's awful to watch them put it on her. I personally hate it."

"I understand," Ethan said. "Is it...Is it still okay to stay with you?"

"Of course," Cal said. "More than okay. I'll um...I'll se you later, okay? There's some stuff that I need to take care of."

Ethan nodded his head and Cal walked off in the direction of Lily's hospital room. She was sat on her bed struggling and whimpering as Connie sat opposite her with a tight hold of her wrists, trying to get her to take her medication.

"Lily, you have to take it," Connie told her sternly. "Please. Just...Just sit still!"

"Come on Lils," Cal whispered and went to sat beside her on her bed, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving them a comforting rub. "I know it's horrible but it helps you."

"I don't need it!" Lily screamed.

"Lily," Cal comforted. "Come on. I um...I need to talk to you about something, something important."

"What?" Lily sniffed, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Take your medication first," Cal said. "Please. For me."

Lily hesitated but nodded her head and held out her hand. Connie smiled and placed a couple of pills into her hand. Lily swallowed them and tipped her head back before holding her tongue out to show Connie that they were gone.

"Good girl," Connie praised her, screwing the lid back onto the pot of Lily's medication.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Lily asked quietly and turned to face Cal who was still sat next to her.

"You know Ethan, right?" Cal said. "The new doctor?" Lily nodded, with no idea where the conversation was going. "Well, um...He's going to be staying with us for a while. The thing is, what I...What I never told you is...Ethan's actually my brother."

"Brother?" Lily's eyes widened.

Cal nodded. "Yes."

"I...I didn't know you had a brother..." Lily stammered. Honestly, she wasn't quite sure what to do or say. "You...You never said."

"Ethan went to live with Dad," Cal said. "When he was extremely young. I guess Mum and I were upset, Mum especially. We um...We didn't mention him to anyone."

"And now he's back," Lily whispered. "Thanks for telling me."

"You had a right to know," Cal said, hugging her and kissing the top of her head. "He's a nice guy though. You'll like him, I promise. Although...He can be a bit of a dork."

Lily laughed. "Noted," she said. "Connie wants me to stay here tonight though."

"I just think that it would be best," Connie put in.

"And I agree with her," Cal chuckled. "You'll get to meet Ethan. Maybe on Saturday we can have a film night with popcorn, you can get to know him then." Lily nodded in agreement. "Are you okay if he stays with us though?"

"Yeah," Lily whispered. "That's fine. Thanks for telling me though."

"I'll leave you in peace," Cal said and gave her one last hug. He ruffled her hair and smiled and left the room, whistling to himself.

"Did you know?" Lily asked. "That Ethan was Cal's brother.

"Yeah," Connie sighed. "I did."

"So why didn't you tell me?" Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Why did Cal tell me now, why not earlier when he introduced Ethan to me?"

"He wasn't sure how you'd react," Connie said. "He was scared. I don't think he knew what to do either, Ethan turned up randomly after getting a job here. I think Cal was in a bit of shock."

"Is he that scared of me?" Lily asked.

"Cal is not scared of you," Connie said and stroked at her hair. "Get some sleep, Lily. You look exhausted."

"I'm fine," Lily lied in a quiet voice.

"Come on." Connie stood up from the bed and pulled the duvet back so that Lily could lay down under it. She pulled it up to Lily's chin and tucked her in. "Get some rest. I'll keep the door locked and I'll come and check on you in an hour."

"Can't you leave it open?" Lily asked quietly.

"Sorry princess," Connie said. "You know the rules. I'll see you in an hour."

Lily nodded and Connie left her room, locking the door on her way out. Lily sighed heavily and shut her eyes to try and get to sleep. She was certain that she noticed Ethan looking at her through the small window in the door but when she opened her eyes, he was gone. She smiled and with another sigh, slowly fell asleep.

 **Uploaded just before Casualty starts! I hope everyone enjoys the episode tonight :)**


	6. Lily's Past

**sweeet-as-honey: It is and yeah he did react quite well. I just love writing their relationship and yeah Cal is going to be lovely in this story although you will sometimes see his impatient side :)**

 **Tato Potato: Me too, thanks for reviewing :)**

Chapter Six: Lily's Past

"So Ethan stayed with you last night then?" Robyn asked, as she and Cal walked into the ED the next morning. Cal nodded, hands stuffed in his pockets. "I can't believe he's your brother. It must be weird."

"It is," Cal admitted. "But also really nice. I just hope he and Lily get along."

"I'm sure they will," Robyn promised him. "Lily's awake if you want to see her. Connie's in there but I'm sure she won't mind if you go in."

"Thanks," Cal said and patted Robyn's arm before hurrying off to Lily's room. He could hear her laughing as he approached so he was pleased that she seemed to be in a good mood. She often was after a good night's sleep. The thing with Lily though was that you could never tell when she was going to kick off. It could just randomly happen at any time. "Knock knock," he said, knocking on the door and walking in.

"Morning, Doctor Knight," Connie said. She was sat on the edge of the bed with her arms wrapped round Lily, gently tickling her waist.

"Get off!" Lily squealed but was laughing all the same.

"Come on," Connie said. "You need to get dressed, you can't stay in pyjamas all day."

"I don't feel like it," Lily whined and leaned against Connie.

"Tough luck," Connie gently said. "Come on, you. I refuse to dress you like a baby. I'm sure Cal wants to spend some time with you too so let's make this quick." Lily just groaned and Connie turned to look at Cal. "How was Ethan then?"

"He was good," Cal said and sat down on the bed on the other side of Lily. "Quiet though."

"Well that's understandable," Connie said. "He hasn't seen you in years."

"I can't help think that he's keeping stuff from me though," Cal said. "He went to take a bath. I moved his bag and placed it on the sofa and I saw a packet of cigarettes in there. He never struck me as the type to smoke."

"Has he got his own place?" Connie asked. "Why is he moving in with you and Lily?"

"He was living with our dad," Cal said. "And trust me, our dad is not an easy person to put up with."

Connie raised her eyebrows. "No?"

"No," Cal repeated and shook his head. "He drinks, a lot. I can see why Ethan wanted to get away from him." Connie nodded sympathetically and Cal gave Lily's shoulder a comforting rub. "Come on trouble, you need to get changed. How did you sleep?"

"Good," Lily said, sitting up and hugging her knees to her chest.

"Yeah she did," Connie said. "Right, I have some work that needs doing so will you two be okay in here for a minute or so?" They both nodded in unison as Connie gave Lily a brief hug before leaving the room.

"Are you going to get dressed then?" Cal asked Lily when the clinical lead had gone. "I don't think Mrs Beauchamp will be very happy if she comes back and you're still in your pyjamas."

"I don't want to get dressed," Lily said. "I'm not working today so why bother?"

Before Cal could speak, Ethan arrived in the doorway. He felt Lily tense up beside him as he shot his brother a reassuring smile. Ethan smiled back, hesitantly moving further and further into the room.

"Lily, right?" He asked.

"Yes," Lily whispered, keeping her knees hugged to her chest.

"I um...I need to go and get changed into my scrubs," Cal said. "Ethan. Do you mind staying with Lily for a bit?"

"Um...What?" Ethan stammered and fiddled anxiously with his glasses. "No, no...Um...Of course not..."

"I won't be long, Lily," Cal said, kissing her head before leaving.

Ethan glanced at Lily, unsure of what to say. Lily stared at him with wide eyes, fiddling with her own glasses. She avoided eye contact and chewed her lip nervously, praying that either Cal or Connie would soon return.

"So...Do you like living with Cal?" Ethan asked, attempting to make conversation.

"Sometimes," Lily sighed. "I do wish that I had a proper family though. I've lived with Cal since I was a baby but let's face it, I know that he isn't my proper family."

Ethan nodded and caught sight of Lily fiddling with the necklace around her neck. "That's really pretty," Ethan said.

"My um...My mum gave it to me," Lily whispered. "When she left me on that doorstep, she put this round my neck. I've worn it every day, I never take it off."

"Is that the only thing you have from your mum?" Ethan asked and sat on the bed.

Lily nodded faintly. "Do you miss your mum?" She asked.

"Yeah," Ethan replied. "But I knew her, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well..." Ethan took a deep breath. "You never even knew your mum so it must be harder for you."

"And I have no chance now," Lily whispered. "Now that she's dead."

"Can I ask you something?" Ethan asked.

Lily nodded. "Of course," she agreed. "What's up?"

"The um...The kicking off and acting out..." Ethan began to say. "Why do you do it? Have you always been like it?"

"I don't know," Lily said. "Cal said that...That when I was younger it took me ages to talk and I actually had to have speech therapy at one point. Then around the age of seven I began acting out, getting into trouble at school, kicking off. Teachers had to restrain me and keep me away from the other kids. I soon started to act like it at home as well and your mum had to restrain me also. Cal started to help as he grew older. I was tested for autism at one point but never diagnosed and your mum maybe thought that I might have PTSD. I'd had quite a hard childhood. I guess what I'm saying is that...I...I don't really know why I do it. I was never diagnosed with anything but when I get upset or angry, it just happens and I don't know why."

"That must be hard," Ethan said quietly.

"It is," Lily answered. "Really hard. I love my job as well but sometimes I need to be taken out of work, if I get bad. Like yesterday and today for example."

"Sorry," Ethan apologised.

"It isn't your fault," Lily said. "It isn't anyone's fault, apart from my own."

"It isn't your fault either, you know?" Ethan said. "You seem lovely and really special, Lily. I mean that as well, I really do."


	7. Home Life

**Tato Potato: Me too :)**

 **Amelia: Thank you and Ethan's secrets will soon be revealed :)**

 **scarlettmitchell1995: Glad you do :)**

 **TheAtomicCheesepuff: More to come about Ethan but first a chapter about Lily :)**

Chapter Seven: Home Life

Cal ducked as a hardback book went flying across the room. He cursed quietly to himself and continued to pick up the shattered pieces of broken glass. Lily fell to her knees next to him, watching him with a small glare. Cal sighed heavily and just carried on with what he was doing but soon Lily pushed him over, causing him to topple and cut his finger on a bit of glass.

"What the hell are you doing?" He yelled, without any thought at all. "For goodness sake, Lily!" Lily just pursed her lips together, hitting him hard across the face with full force. Cal held a hand to his bruise and shook his head at her.

When Lily was a child and became angry, it was his mum who often dealt with it. She'd hit before and Cal remembered something that his mum had once said to him before she died, it will only get worst as she gets older. Cal didn't want Lily to become abusive, he didn't want her to end up in prison or hospital for anger that she couldn't control. That was why he kept his home life a secret, he didn't even tell Connie how bad things were at home and honestly he thought inviting Ethan to live with him would stop Lily's outbursts. Ethan wasn't there at that point though as he'd been called into work to do some overtime.

"Can you just...Stop?" Cal yelled as Lily managed to throw another hit at him. "Stop!"

He managed to scoop up the shards of glass before throwing them into a bag that he then threw into the bin. His hand was bleeding so he quickly walked over to the sink and held it under.

"I don't know why you do it," Cal muttered, half to himself and half to Lily who was standing in the doorway. "I just...I long for a normal day but I guess I can't have that when I constantly have to take care of you, can I?"

"I'm not asking you to take care of me!" Lily screamed.

"Who else is going to do the fucking job?" Cal shouted, turning round to face her. He sighed deeply and held a hand to his head in frustration. "I love you, Lily. You're my little sister and..."

"No I am not!" Lily shouted back. "We are both adults now Cal and you need to face the fact that I am not your family! I don't have a family!"

"I'm the closest thing you've got," Cal said, gesturing to himself. "And I'm sorry Lily but you can't take care of yourself, not when you are like this!"

"I hate you!" Lily screamed, grabbing hold of the kitchen table and tipping it over.

Cal sighed at the table on the floor and shook his head. There was a click of the front door so Cal quickly grabbed hold of Lily's arm, not caring if he got a face full of fist.

"That's Ethan," he whispered. "Lily, please. Go upstairs, calm yourself down, hug Tigger or something."

"I am not a child," Lily hissed angrily at him.

"Go," Cal ordered, giving her a small push towards her room. Lily didn't even look back as she hurried off to her bedroom. Cal followed slowly. He waited until she was in there before shutting the door and locking it. Sighing sympathetically, he dropped the key into his jeans pocket.

When Lily was younger, Cal got taken to Disneyland Paris by his uncle. Lily ended up staying home with Matilda but Cal bought her this cuddly Tigger from one of the shops in Disneyland. Lily had loved it at the time and she still kept it hidden in her room. Cal was the only one who knew about it, he knew how much the Disney toy calmed her down when she was angry or upset.

The door unlocked and Ethan walked in, looking tired from his busy day at work.

"Hey," he greeted. "I um...I got cakes on my way home."

"Sounds good," Cal chuckled. "How was work?"

"Very busy," Ethan said. "I can see why Mrs Beauchamp needed me...What happened to your hand?" His eyes soon diverted to the gash on Cal's right hand.

"I um...I cut it on some glass," Cal told him.

"Glass?" Ethan asked. "What happened?"

"Nothing big," Cal said. "I was tidying the living room, knocked over the vase of flowers and there was glass everywhere."

"Clumsy," Ethan laughed. "Where's Lily?"

"In her bedroom," Cal said, receiving a confused look from Ethan. "She um...Just feeling a bit low. She gets like it sometimes, I wouldn't mention it to her."

"Okay," Ethan said. "Well, make sure to save her a cake."

"Why don't you get those set out?" Cal asked. "Choose a film and I'll go and see if Lily is feeling better."

Ethan agreed and headed off to the kitchen. Cal cleared his throat and walked across to Lily's room. He took the key out, unlocked the door and cautiously made his way inside. She was sat on her bed against the wall, knees to her chest, Tigger in her arms.

"I wish you didn't lock me up like that," Lily whispered, fiddling with the ears of the stuffed animal. "Like I'm some sort of criminal."

"Sorry Lils," Cal apologised and sat next to her.

"Sorry about your hand," Lily said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore," Cal said.

"Is it hard living with me?" Lily asked.

"No," Cal said. "But it must be hard for you. Mum was always better at handling you than I was, I um...I never know what to do and I guess I get impatient."

"You don't," Lily said and Cal raised his eyebrows. "Well, maybe sometimes. You may not be my family but I...I guess you are a really good brother to me."

"I try," Cal said. "Ethan's brought cakes home. Fancy one?"

"Sure," Lily said with a smile.

"Come on then whirlwind," Cal said and wrapped an arm round her shoulder. "I love you very much little sis."

"Yeah," Lily agreed, as Cal embraced her in a hug and rubbed her back. "You too bro."

 **A little insight on what home life can be like for the both of them :)**


	8. Connie's Suspicions

**Tato Potato: Thanks and I'm glad you think it's one of my best :)**

 **TheAtomicCheesepuff: It is and you will see more :)**

Chapter Eight: Connie's Suspicions

"I cannot believe you've never seen The Wizard of Oz," Lily said, as she and Ethan walked into work the next day. "Cal and I had this tradition when we were younger where we watched it every Saturday night. It was our favourite film."

"It was good, I'll admit that," Ethan laughed. "Better than I expected. Why did Dorothy go to all that trouble though when she could have just clapped her shoes together?"

"Well, she didn't know she could do that," Lily pointed out.

"Kind of stupid, don't you think?" Ethan said.

"If she knew how to get home within the first five minutes of the film, then there would be no film," Lily said. "Stop taking the fun out of it. It's an amazing film."

"What are you two arguing about?" Cal sighed, walking over and shoving in between them so he could wrap his arms around them both. "The Wizard of Oz again?"

"I am just trying to explain the film to Ethan," Lily said. "Again. He still doesn't understand it."

"He'll soon get it after many Saturday nights of watching it," Cal joked. "Right. I'm going to get a coffee, does anyone want one?" Both Ethan and Lily shook their heads and Cal made his way into the ED.

"Cal's black eye is really bad," Ethan mentioned.

Cal was making breakfast that morning when Ethan had noticed the black eye slowly forming on his face. Lily had gone and punched him in a rage but Ethan had been in the shower at the time so Cal had told him a small, white lie. That he had left the cupboard door open in the kitchen, turned round quickly and walked straight into it. Ethan was determined to have him checked out by Connie when they arrived at work but Cal had just refused. He didn't even think Connie would notice, but unfortunately she did.

"What on earth have you done to your face, Doctor Knight?" Connie questioned straight away and walked over, rubbing at where he had been punched.

"I um...Walked into a cupboard door," Cal said, trying to keep his lie straight. "I'm fine. Honestly."

"That looks sore, Caleb," Connie said. "Are you certain that is what happened?"

Cal nodded and took a deep breath. "Positive."

"Well, I don't think I believe you," Connie sighed. "How are things with Lily?" Cal chose to keep silent and just shrugged his shoulders instead. "Come on Caleb, we both know that she lashes out when she gets angry. Did she do this to you?"

"Lily may get angry but she isn't a monster," Cal mumbled, allowing Connie to inspect his injury. "Can you just...Stop now please?"

"Are you sure you're okay with her at home?" Connie checked with him. "Does Ethan even know how bad she can get?" Cal shrugged his shoulders again. "Cal. You could get help and support for stuff like this."

Cal hung his head and then looked behind him at where Lily and Ethan were sat on a couple of chairs. The two of them were talking, having a break before starting their shift. Lily looked completely fine, on the outside it didn't look like there was anything wrong with her. In a second though, she could just flip and hurt someone but not even meaning to.

"We could get you a family support worker," Connie said. "Someone who can help both you and Lily."

"But what..." Cal sighed. "You don't understand. What if she gets taken away from me?"

"She's not a child, Cal," Connie laughed. "She won't be put into foster care or anything."

"No." Cal shook his head. "I'm scared that if people find out how bad she is then...Then she could be sectioned or something."

"I see what you mean," Connie said. "Do you think she's bad enough to be sectioned?"

Cal paused. "I honestly don't know. Family support worker?"

"They'll just work with you and Lily and maybe Ethan as well," Connie said. "They will help you and Ethan become close after being so far apart for so long. They will help Lily with her problems and they'll also help you cope with dealing with her. I think it could be a huge thing for you both, a huge life changer." Cal nodded, deciding to give it a go. "I'll make some calls."

Cal walked away and over to where his brother and sister were sat. None of them were in their scrubs yet. Ethan was dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt and Lily was beautifully dressed in a blouse and jeans. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she had dangly star earrings in her ears. Her glasses sat neatly on her face.

"Can I have a word?" Cal asked her. "In private?"

Lily nodded. "Sure."

"I'll go and get changed into my uniform," Ethan said and mouthed a small 'goodbye' to Lily before walking off to the locker rooms.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked.

"I've been talking to Connie," Cal sighed and took Ethan's seat next to her. "I didn't tell her what really happened with the black eye but she was suspicious." Lily nodded in disappointment and hung her head. "She wants us to get a family support worker, to help us through problems that we may experience at home."

"So I am hard to live with then?" Lily asked.

"No." Cal shook his head. "I didn't say that. I love living with you and you know that. Come on, we had a lovely Saturday evening watching 'The Wizard of Oz' didn't we?"

"But I gave you a black eye," Lily reminded him.

"All families have problems," Cal said. "And Connie thinks it'd just be a good idea if we have a family support worker. She's going to make some calls for us but it could work, if we just explain to them about our childhood and about things at present and they'll help us."

"Sure," Lily whispered. "I'm not happy about it but I guess I'll do it for you."

"That's my girl," Cal said and rubbed her shoulder. "They'll also help Ethan. It can't be easy with him moving in with me after so long of being apart."

"You're right," Lily said. "Like I said, I'll do it. For you."

"You make me proud," Cal said, standing up and leaning down to hug her. "It won't be that bad and if it is, blame Connie." Lily giggled and nodded as Cal winked, gave her a high five and walked away. Lily rolled her eyes and shook her head. It wasn't going to be easy but she had no choice.

 **I'm really glad people are liking this story :)**


	9. Running Off

**Tato Potato: It is and Cal is an extremely good brother to her :)**

 **CBloom2: Yeah something like that may happen at some point :)**

 **ETWentHome: Yeah more to come, thanks for reviewing :)**

Chapter Nine: Running Off

"So, how old are you and Lily?" The support worker asked as she and Cal sat on the sofa in the flat together. Her name was Julie and Cal and Lily had both taken a day off work to meet with her. "I mean I know your both adults now..."

"I'm thirty one," Cal told her. "Lily is twenty six. We've lived together since Lily was a baby though, I told you the story."

"You did." Julie nodded. "It's wonderful that your mum took Lily in like that."

Cal nodded and Lily walked into the room and handed Julie a mug of tea that she'd made. Julie smiled thankfully at her and Lily just shyly wrapped her cardigan around herself and stood in the middle of the living room.

"So I spoke to Connie, your boss is it?" Julie asked and flicked through the notes that she was holding.

"Lily just has moments," Cal said, glancing anxiously at his sister. "She can lash out, get abusive and often needs restraining at work."

"No," Lily whined.

"Don't deny it, Lily," Cal sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We need to be honest so Julie can help us."

"We're fine though," Lily said. "It's always been just me and Cal. We don't need anyone else coming in and invading our life."

"Maybe I should just talk to Cal," Julie said as politely as possible. "If you want to wait in your room Lily, I can talk to you later."

Lily looked to Cal who gave her a reassuring nod. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and headed off to her bedroom, making sure that the door was shut behind her.

"Has Lily ever been diagnosed with anything?" Julie questioned.

"No." Cal shook her head. "Autism was a possibility when she was younger but she was never diagnosed. She seems to have worsened as she got older."

"But she's working?" Julie asked.

"Oh, yeah," Cal replied. "She's a doctor like me. Despite her problems, she is very bright and academic. When she first started at Holby, she did work full time but she kind of works part time now. She tends to lash out and get more frustrated when she's overstressed. Connie is very good and works with her quite a lot though and she sometimes stays the night there when she's really bad. She's been in and out of hospital all her life, I think she's like immune to it now."

"Am I correct in saying that your brother is now staying with you as well?" Julie mentioned.

"Yeah," Cal sighed. "Ethan. We haven't seen each other when we were kids, he went to live with our dad. He knows what Lily can be like but I don't think he actually knows how bad she can be. I guess I don't want her to harm him."

"Did she give you the black eye?"

"Yeah," Cal whispered. "It was an accident though, she isn't a violent person. She's lovely, she's really pretty and...It's just a shame really. She can't help any of it."

"I know," Julie said. "I'm not going to take her away or...Or lock her up or anything Cal," she laughed. "I just want to help your family. It can't be easy with dealing with Lily and then having your brother randomly show up as well."

"Thank you," Cal thanked her.

"Why don't we bring Lily in to talk to now?" Julie suggested.

"I'll go and get her." Cal stood up from the sofa and walked towards Lily's room. He knocked on the door and called to her but got no reply so he opened it and walked inside. Lily wasn't in there and her bedroom window was wide open.

* * *

Lily walked along the path with her hands stuffed into her jacket pockets and her backpack on her back. Her hood was up and her jeans were ripped from climbing out of her window. She'd ran away so many times in the past though, she didn't even care. She walked through a muddy puddle, getting her converse and jeans completely soaked and crossed the road to get to Holby City Emergency Department. She sighed heavily and pulled her hood down as she walked inside.

"Lily?" Zoe questioned, walking over. "What on earth are you doing here? Don't you have a day off today?"

"Where's Mrs Beauchamp?" Lily whispered.

"In her office," Zoe said, eyeing the young woman up and down. "But..."

"Thank you," Lily thanked her and walked off to Connie's office. She didn't even knock, just walked straight in.

"Lily," Connie said in surprise, looking up from her computer. "Sweetheart, what are you doing?"

"I can't go back there," Lily said in a teary voice and shook her head.

"Okay, calm down," Connie soothed. "Shut the door."

Lily shut the door and wiped at her eyes. Connie stopped typing and walked over to check if she was okay, bringing her in for a hug. She was cold and her jacket was damp.

"Do you want me to see if we have a spare jacket somewhere?" Connie asked but Lily shook her head. "What's happened? Fight with Cal?"

"No," Lily said. "We had that fucking family support worker come round today."

"Ahh, I forgot about that," Connie said. "What happened?"

"They were talking privately, about me," Lily said. "I had to get out, I know I have some fucking problems but I hate that Cal was telling her all about it and it...It just upset me."

"You are unbelievable," Connie laughed, giving her another hug. "Cal's going to be worried sick if he finds you missing."

"I just needed to get out," Lily said, sniffing to hold back her tears.

"And you chose to come and see me?" Connie asked and Lily nodded.

"Well, thank you for that," Connie said. "You know that you're always welcome here, don't you? Because if you're here then I know you're safe."

Lily nodded and whispered, "okay."

"Why don't I phone Cal and let him know you're safe?" Connie said. "Because he'll be worrying, trust me."

"Sure," Lily agreed and wiped her eyes. "But will I be okay to stay here?"

"I said you could, didn't I?" Connie said. "Come on, I'll ring Cal, make us a hot chocolate and then we can talk. You just take a seat and make yourself comfortable. I won't be long, I promise."

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. How good was Connie and Jacob's kiss last night? I was literally screaming at the TV, haha. I seriously cannot wait until next week now :)**


	10. Ethan's Shocking Question

**Tato Potato: He does, I love how caring Cal is. Ethan will feature in this chapter :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: Yeah me too. I think depending on the situation running away can help sometimes :)**

 **ETWentHome: Yeah, thanks for reviewing :)**

 **Thanks for your lovely reviews guys. I'm really pleased with how this story is turning out so far. I love writing Lily, Cal and Ethan together.**

Chapter Ten: Ethan's Shocking Question

"Thanks for looking after her," Cal said, as he walked through the ED corridors with Connie. "I didn't quite know what to do when I found that she was missing, and with the support worker there as well..."

"Cal, it's fine," Connie said. "She's okay. I just...Lily doesn't like people talking about her and I think she just wanted to get away from all of that. She's okay though, we sat and talked. She's in the staffroom chatting to Ethan if you wanted to go and see her."

"Ethan?" Cal frowned.

"Yeah." Connie nodded. "He went to check if she was okay and I think she's quite enjoying the company to be honest."

"Right," Cal said in confusion and he walked off to the staffroom.

Just like Connie had told him, Lily and Ethan were sat in there laughing and talking, as if they had known each other their whole life. He watched them through the window for a couple of minutes before pushing the door open and walking in. The laughter stopped and Lily turned and stared at him.

"Don't stop on my account," he joked and then caught site of the look on Lily's face. "What?"

"Go away," Lily mumbled and turned her head back towards Ethan.

Cal shrugged his shoulders, hands in his pockets. "What have I done?"

"You know what you did!" Lily snapped. "Talking to that fucking support worker about how much of a handful I am!"

"I...I didn't say that, Lily," Cal said. "And you know I didn't. I wouldn't."

"That was what you were implying," Lily said. "Just go away and leave me alone. I don't want you here."

"Lily..." Ethan said awkwardly, torn between Lily and his brother. "Just...Cal wasn't implying anything."

"Shut up," Lily said and began to scratch anxiously at her arms. "I hate you, Cal." She stood up, grabbed a cushion off of the chair that she was sitting on and lobbed it at his head. "I hate you!" She then screamed in tears and lunged at him.

Cal tried to duck but Lily had already whacked him round the face. Ethan's eyes widened and he leapt to his feet, grabbing hold of Lily and hauling her away from Cal. Lily screamed as he grabbed her and quickly swung her arm to hit him. The door opened and Zoe stormed in, grabbing both of Lily's arms and holding them behind her back. Connie stood in the doorway watching as Zoe struggled to restrain Lily.

"I'll grab Charlie," Connie said and then turned to Cal and Ethan. "My office, now."

* * *

"So, would you both like to explain to me what happened?" Connie sighed and leaned back against her desk. "Lily has been fine all morning, then that goes and happens. Cal?"

"Um..." Cal dabbed at his sore face with a wet paper towel. "I just walked in to check on Lily and she started yelling at me. She said that she hated me and accused me of complaining about her to the support worker and saying that I couldn't handle her. I never said anything like that, she got the wrong end of the stick."

"But what caused her to flip like that?" Connie asked, looking to Ethan who had a tissue held to his bloody nose. "And how did Ethan get injured?"

"Um..." Cal glanced briefly at his brother before turning his attention back to Connie. "After Lily lunged at me, Ethan made a grab for her to try and get her off me."

Connie sighed and shook her head at Ethan. "You shouldn't have tried to restrain her."

"But she was close to seriously hurting Cal!" Ethan yelled defensively, removing the tissue from his nose.

"Then you should have come to find one of us," Connie said. "You've had no experience in dealing with Lily, you haven't been trained in restraining her."

"So I shouldn't have grabbed her?" Ethan asked. "Not even if she was injuring my brother."

Connie shook her head in silence.

"You should have just gone and grabbed Connie or Zoe, or even Charlie," Cal put in. "I'm trained in restraining Lily. I would have been fine on my own for a second until someone else showed up."

"Sorry," Ethan whispered and hung his head.

"Don't be," Cal said. "But I've been helping to restrain her my whole life, even when I was a child myself. Lily's grown up like it and she's gradually getting worst and stronger as she gets older. She needs people who are trained and able to hold her and stop her from harming anyone. It's just for the safety of herself and others."

"Then I want to be trained," Ethan piped up.

"What?" Connie stared at him in shock with wide eyes.

"I want to learn how to restrain her," he elaborated.

"Do you take joy out of watching us restrain her?" Connie asked. "It isn't something that people normally ask, Doctor Hardy."

"I want to get to know Lily," Ethan said. "But I also want to be able to help out with her if I'm needed."

"You're completely mental," Cal chuckled.

"You said yourself that you need more staff to help out with her!" Ethan stated. "So what's the harm in training me up? Lily already knows me. Please...Can...Can you just consider training me for the job?"

"He's right," Connie sighed and folded her arms across her chest.

"Connie." Cal shook his head. "No."

"He's right," Connie repeated herself. "We do need more staff to restrain Lily. There may seem like enough now but if we have a busy day in the department one day and she's kicking off, then it just isn't enough people."

"Yeah, I guess," Cal whispered.

"I want you to train him," Connie said to Cal.

"What?" Cal asked.

"Book in some free time this week," Connie said. "You can use one of the board rooms but you're probably the best person for the job." Cal nodded in agreement. "Right, you can both go," Connie said and went to sit back down at her desk. "Doctor Hardy?"

Ethan turned back to face her. "Yes Mrs Beauchamp?"

"I really hope you realise what you're letting yourself in for."

 **I liked writing this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed reading it.**


	11. Training in Progress

**CBloom2: Haha so do I, I guess we're both evil :)**

 **Tato Potato: Me too :)**

 **ETWentHome: It is, it'd be good for him :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: Me too and it will be very difficult for him. I'm glad you find it interesting, slightly different to write :)**

Chapter Eleven: Training in Progress

Cal folded his arms across his chest and looked at the two boys who were standing opposite him, Ethan and Lofty. Lily was sat cross legged on the table behind him, watching as he got on with the training. She wasn't even sure why she was there.

"Um...Can I get back to work?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Connie wants you here," Cal said, turning round to look at her. "You're my guinea pig."

"Great," Lily muttered sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

"Now," Cal sighed and turned back to Ethan and Lofty. "Um...Let's start with a simple restraint," he said, as Connie walked into the room to see how they were getting on. "This stops her from hitting, you just pin her arms tightly behind her back."

"Aren't you going to show us?" Lofty shrugged at him.

"Um...Sure..." Cal said. "Lily, come here."

"How are you getting on?" Connie asked, hovering by the door to watch them.

"Good," Cal lied and stood Lily in front of him. "I won't hurt you," he reassured her and pinned her arms tightly behind her back so she couldn't move them. "See? That's pretty simple. You just need to hold her tightly."

"Yes and you can let go now," Lily said, gritting her teeth together impatiently.

"Sorry, Lily," Cal said and let her go. "But it's important that they know how to do this."

Lily just glared at him and rubbed her wrists dramatically, even though Cal hadn't actually held her that tightly. She noticed Connie making notes in a notebook as Cal brought Lofty over to practice restraining first.

"I'm scared," he whimpered.

"Dude," Cal scoffed. "You can't be scared or she'll rip your head off."

"But..."

"Lofty," Cal sighed. "Whilst in the middle of restraining someone, you cannot feel scared."

"Lily," Connie called and Lily walked over to her. "Can you do me a favour, darling?"

"Sure," Lily sighed. "What's up?"

"Lofty seems to be struggling," Connie whispered to her so that the boys wouldn't hear. "So I want you to walk over and just...Give him a slight nudge, okay? Hit his shoulder, pretend to lunge at him. Just help him out a bit."

"You're actually encouraging me to hit someone?" Lily asked quietly, trying to stop herself from laughing at Cal teaching Lofty some restraining techniques. "Cool. Yeah, I...I'll have a go at helping."

"Make me proud," Connie said.

Lily smiled and chewed on her lip, slowly making her way over to Cal and Lofty. She glanced at Ethan, clenched her hand into a fist and punched Lofty hard on the shoulder.

"Jesus!" Lofty yelled, toppling backwards into the table and clutching his sore arm. Cal's eyes widened and he and Ethan burst into fits of laughter.

"I told you to give him a nudge, not knock him out!" Connie yelled, but even she was trying to stop herself from laughing out loud.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Lofty asked. "I wasn't prepared!"

"That's the thing mate," Cal laughed. "You don't have time to be prepared because she could just flip at any time. You need to be ready at all times." Lofty nodded, continuing to rub at his sore shoulder. "Now for the restraint mask. You've both seen it get used," he said and picked the mask up. "Don't worry, Lils. We won't put this on you now."

"Good," Lily said and went to stand beside Connie.

"Basically this just gets put on her face and fastened up at the back," Cal said, demonstrating to both Lofty and Ethan. "It's fairly easy to use but usually two people have to hold Lily whilst the third person puts this on. It needs to be strapped on correctly or she can just move her head and it'll fall off. Trust me, she tries."

"So why do three people have to deal with her?" Ethan asked.

"Because she can be strong," Cal informed them. "She will do absolutely anything. She'll kick, punch, bite..."

"She bites?" Lofty gulped anxiously.

"Can I...Can I have a go at restraining?" Ethan asked. "I feel like I won't learn unless I do it."

"You can restrain me," Cal said, looking to where Connie and Lily were talking to each other. "It kind of isn't fair to restrain Lily when she isn't actually kicking off." Ethan nodded. "Right. So what would you do if I came at you like this." Cal lifted his arm as if to punch Ethan. Ethan hesitated before grabbing both of Cal's arms and pinning them behind his back. "Not bad." Cal nodded. "It's different when someone is actually coming at you though. It can be quite terrifying."

"Really?" Ethan asked nervously.

Cal nodded. "Yep," he said. "So things may be fine now but when it comes to actually restraining Lily, it could be quite scary. Are you up for that?"

"I said I was, didn't I?" Ethan said, stepping away from his brother and letting go of his arms. "I can do it, trust me."

"I don't think I can," Lofty whispered, a hint of fear in his eyes.

"You'll be okay," Cal said. "Mrs Beauchamp and I wouldn't have said yes to training you if we didn't think you could do it."

"He's right," Connie spoke up. "Don't worry, we'll give you a few sessions before throwing you into something straight away. You need to be properly trained up."

"I think we're done for today," Cal said. "But these two are doing well, I think."

"Good," Connie said. "I'm glad to hear it. We'll finish there today and book another training session in."

"Do you think I can really do this?" Ethan whispered to Cal, wanting to hear his thoughts.

"Honestly," Cal sighed. "No. I think it could be too much for you and I think it could upset you but...Well, we'll see."

"Yeah," Ethan whispered.

Ethan hated to think that Cal still thought of him as pathetic and sensitive. If only he knew how much he'd changed, if only he knew what he was like now.


	12. Birthday Cards

**Tato Potato: Yeah so do I :)**

 **Casualtyfix: It is actually quite amusing :)**

 **ETWentHome: He does need to believe in Ethan more and there will be some tension between the brothers coming shortly. Also more about Ethan to come :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: She is. I know I worked at a Playgroup once and one child was severely autistic and he was way out of control when he kicked off. At least Lily has loads of support :)**

Chapter Twelve: Birthday Cards

Cal was sitting at the kitchen table eating some toast the next morning whilst Ethan stood nearby making himself a coffee. They weren't due in until eleven but still had a long day of work ahead of them and Lily's birthday was coming up. Cal usually tried to make it special for her as her birthdays as a child weren't too great.

"Has any post come for me?" Lily asked, rushing into the kitchen.

"No." Cal shook his head, munching on his toast. "Sorry Lils."

Lily sighed and threw her head back before exiting the kitchen.

"She does it every year," Cal informed Ethan.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked, sipping at his coffee.

"Expects that she has a dad somewhere out there who knows about her, a sibling or an aunt," Cal said. "And every year she asks if any post has been sent. It'd mean the world for Lily to know who her dad is but she needs to be realistic and realise that he isn't going to send her anything for her birthday. He probably doesn't even know he has a daughter. She's twenty six and never ever has she received anything from her blood family."

"Has Lily ever met her dad?" Ethan asked.

"No," Cal sighed. "She has no idea who he is so I pretty much doubt he knows about her. She just needs to face the fact Ethan, her dad will never send her anything for her birthday."

"I guess," Ethan whispered and tipped the remains of his coffee down the sink. "I'm going to head off. I was going to do a bit of shopping before my shift anyway."

"We'll see you later then," Cal said.

Ethan nodded and picked up his coat and case before leaving the house. He went to the shopping centre first, knowing that it'd be open but quiet at that time of the morning. He picked up a new tube of toothpaste first as they were starting to run out and then made his way to the card shop. There was so many to choose from. He ended up getting two, one was just a plain card with 'Happy Birthday' and a picture of a balloon, the other had two little teddy bears on the front sharing a cake between them and 'Have a lovely Birthday' was printed inside. Ethan smiled and bought them both before going to sit on a bench outside.

He sighed heavily to himself, took a pen out of his shirt pocket and wrote in the teddy bear card.

 _To Lily,_

 _I know we haven't known each other long but I hope you do have an amazing day._

 _Happy Birthday._

 _Love from Ethan xxx_

He smiled and tucked it into the envelope before getting on to writing the next card.

 _Lily_

 _I can't believe I have a daughter. We'll see each other again one day but for now, Happy Birthday and have a lovely day._

 _Love you lots darling._

 _Dad xx_

Ethan gulped, debating in his head whether it was the right thing to do or not. He'd made sure to change his writing slightly, making the writing from her dad quite scruffy and big. Looking at them both you couldn't tell that they were written by the same person. He sighed and shook his head and put that one into the envelope as well, before stuffing them both into his case.

No one needed to know that it was him who wrote the card and it wasn't like he was promising Lily that her dad was going to show up. He kept it simple, maybe one day but not now. It was mean in a way but also quite nice as well.

He arrived for his shift with ten minutes to spare and Cal and Lily had arrived as well.

"Hey, where have you been?" Lily asked.

"I had to pop to the shops first," Ethan told her. "So, it's your birthday soon then?"

"Yeah." Lily nodded. "In a week."

"How old will you be?" Ethan asked.

"Twenty seven," Lily sighed. "But please don't make a big thing out of it. I hate birthdays."

"What?" Ethan frowned at her. "Why?"

"Because I've had twenty seven fucking years of crap birthdays without a proper family," Lily snapped and stormed off to start work.

* * *

"Hey Cal, what are you doing?" Robyn asked, walking into the locker rooms. Cal was sat at the table with his laptop, tapping away on the keys. "Clearly stuff that isn't work related," she joked.

"Sorry," he sighed and rubbed at his head. "I'm trying to find Lily the perfect birthday present, you know?"

"Why?" Robyn asked. "Twenty seven isn't really a special age. Wait until her thirtieth."

"I always try to make her birthday special," Cal said. "But it never works, you know? At the end of the day she's never had a real family to spend a birthday with. I want her to actually enjoy it this year."

"Well, what are you looking for?" Robyn asked and went to stand beside Cal, peering at the screen over his shoulder. "A trampoline?"

"Yeah it's cool," Cal said proudly with a smile. "It's one of those really big ones, see?"

"Cal, she's turning twenty seven," Robyn reminded him. "Not seven. She won't want a trampoline."

"Yeah, you're right," Cal sighed. "I'm just not very good at this kind of stuff."

"Well, you only have a week," Robyn said. "If you're going to order something, you need to do it fast."

"I know," Cal agreed. "Maybe I'll just give her money. Then she can get whatever she wants."

"You'll think of something," Robyn encouraged and gave him a pat on the back. "You're smart." And she then hopped out of her seat and left. Cal sighed to himself again, took one more look at his laptop screen and slammed the lid shut.

He'd think of something, eventually.

 **Ethan's backstory is soon to come :) I'm still kind of planning it, haha.**


	13. Surprises

**ETWentHome: It is and let's hope so :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: It could end in disaster but it is lovely of Ethan. I'm twenty one but I'd love a trampoline, haha. They're just such fun :)**

 **Tato Potato: Me too, I'd love one haha. Ethan and Cal will think of something :)**

Chapter Thirteen: Surprises

"Thanks Cal," Lily said, as she opened a birthday card to see twenty seven pounds fall out. "That's really sweet of you." Every year up until she died, Matilda often got Cal and Lily money for their birthday. The amount was also the age that they would be that day so in Lily's case, Cal had put twenty seven pounds in the card for her to carry on his mum's tradition.

"You're welcome," Cal said and gave her a hug. "And now for your main present."

"You didn't have to get me anything," Lily said. "The money's enough."

"You'll love it though," Cal said. "It's in my room, I'll be back in a second." And with that, Cal shot off to his room.

"Do you know what he's got me?" Lily asked Ethan who just shook his head. "Thanks for the card and the chocolate by the way, it was really sweet of you. I wasn't expecting you to get me anything."

"It's fine," Ethan said. "I didn't know what to get you so I settled with the chocolate. I hope that was okay."

"More than okay," Lily said and smiled at him. "Thank you."

Cal came back into the room with a box wrapped up in blue 'Happy Birthday' wrapping paper. He kissed Lily's cheek and placed the box on her lap before sitting back down next to her.

"Happy Birthday," he said.

"What the hell is it?" Lily asked.

"Well open it and see," Cal chuckled. "Be careful though. Just don't...Shake the box or anything."

"Okay," Lily laughed and began to carefully tear the wrapping paper. She chucked the paper to the floor and saw a box with a hole ridden lid. She removed the lid and saw a tiny, grey kitten sitting in the box looking up at her. "Oh my god," Lily gasped and held her hands to her mouth. "Oh my god, he...He's gorgeous," she said and lifted the kitten out of the box. He purred as she held him to her chest and gave his head a stroke.

"Do you like him?" Cal asked.

"I love him," Lily squealed. "But why?"

"Well you're allergic to dogs," Cal said and gave the kitten a stroke. "And I wanted you to have something of your own for once."

"He's a cutie," Ethan said, also giving his little head a stroke. "What are you going to name him?"

"I don't know," Lily said and turned to Cal. "What do you think?"

"Well he's yours," Cal said. "You can name him whatever you like."

"What about Ethan?" Ethan joked.

"I think that'd get confusing," Lily laughed and thought for a minute. "I like the name Monty. He looks like a Monty."

"Monty's a nice name," Cal said and tickled the kitten under his chin. "Hey Mont. Hey mate."

"I'm going to go and get my stuff ready for work," Ethan said and he stood up and left the living room.

Lily smiled and placed the kitten on her lap, tickling him under the chin.

"I was thinking that we could go and get him some bits after work," Cal said. "Food, toys, stuff like that." Lily nodded in agreement, leaning down to kiss Monty on the top of his head.

"Lily," Ethan called and walked into the living room. "There's a letter for you."

Lily put Monty down on the floor and took the red envelope from Ethan. Her name and address was written in black pen on the front. She took a deep breath and slowly opened it, the two brothers watching her carefully. Everything was quiet as she took out the birthday card and opened it up.

"It's from my dad," she whispered, her eyes scanning the message inside.

"What?" Cal frowned, trying to peer over her shoulder to look at the message. "It can't be."

"It is," Lily whispered again and showed the card to Ethan. "Ethan, what does that say?" She asked, pointing to a word.

"It says Dad," Ethan whispered back, suddenly a whole pile of guilt coming over him.

"Told you," Lily said to Cal.

"Even if it were true..." Cal went to say.

"It is!" Lily interrupted.

"How did he find you after all of these years?" Cal asked.

"All that matters is that he did," Lily said. "A card. From my dad, Caleb! This is the best birthday present I could ever ask for."

"I'm happy for you," Cal sighed, glancing across at Ethan. "I am and I know you want to believe that this will change things but just don't get your hopes up, okay?"

"Whatever," Lily mumbled and stood up to go and leave the room.

"You shouldn't put her down like that," Ethan whispered, moving to sit beside Cal. "Maybe that card is from her dad. It's possible."

"No it isn't," Cal hissed at him quietly so that Lily wouldn't hear. "Because that card was from you. Don't play dumb with me Ethan, I know it was."

"What...What makes you think that?" Ethan stammered.

"I recognised the handwriting, Ethan," Cal scoffed. "I mean you did a pretty good job of disguising it but I could still tell that it was yours. What the hell were you playing at? That's mean and could break Lily's heart."

"I thought that it would be a nice thing to do," Ethan whispered. "I'm sorry."

"She's going to believe that though," Cal pointed out. "And she's going to probably go and find her dad now."

"She might not," Ethan said. "It was just a card, Cal. The message didn't even say 'come and see me when you can' or anything like that. It was just a birthday card from a man she's never even met."

"You need to tell Lily the truth," Cal said, shaking his head at his brother. "And fast," he then added before walking away to check on his little sister.

 **I hope everyone had a good Christmas by the way. I certainly did :)**


	14. Arguments

**Tato Potato: Let's hope not :)**

 **ETWentHome: She may be. Just wait and see what happens :)**

Chapter Fourteen: Arguments

"I still can't believe it," Lily whispered, as she and Ethan walked into work that day. Lily held the card in her hand and was just looking over it. "I've never received a card from my dad before. He's out there, Ethan. He knows where I am."

"Yeah," Ethan whispered, thinking about what Cal had said that day. Maybe he was right, maybe he did need to tell Lily. "Lily...I..There's something that you need to know."

"What?" Lily asked, as they reached the reception desk.

"Happy Birthday Lily," Louise greeted.

"Thanks." Lily smiled at her and turned to Ethan. "What's up?"

"That...That card..." Ethan stuttered. He gulped anxiously and glanced across at his brother who just gave him an encouraging nod. "It...It wasn't from your dad."

"What do you mean?" Lily shook her head at him.

"It was from me," Ethan whispered. "I'm sorry."

Lily stared at him with wide eyes, unsure of what to say. Ethan sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, eager for Lily to talk. Lily looked down at the card that she was holding and slowly it fell from her grip and landed on the floor between them. She didn't say anything but all of a sudden, she picked up one of the chairs in the waiting room, screamed and lobbed it across the room just as Connie exited her office. The clinical lead immediately stepped back, alarmed to see a chair flying across the waiting room.

"What on earth is going on here?" Connie shouted.

Lily turned round and began screaming at Ethan. "I hate you!" She yelled. "How could you?"

Ethan hung his head. "Lily...I...I didn't mean..."

"Would anyone care to enlighten me as to what's happened?" Connie interrupted, still in a loud, stern voice. "Doctor Chao, pick that chair up."

"No," Lily refused and gave Ethan a hard push in the chest before storming out of the waiting room.

"Mrs Beauchamp, it's Lily's birthday today," Cal said, rushing over to the scene.

"Yes, I know Caleb," Connie sighed, picking up the chair that Lily had thrown. "But that does not give her an excuse to lash out. Birthday or no birthday, she still chucked a chair across the room."

"Ethan wrote her a card," Cal informed the clinical lead. "But said that it was from her dad. That's why she's upset."

Connie turned to Ethan in silence. "Is that true?" She asked.

"I was only trying to do a nice thing for her," Ethan said. "But Cal told me that I should tell her."

"You know what Lily is like," Connie sighed, glancing at the brothers.

"Exactly," Cal muttered and crossed his arms. "And I told him that it'd upset her."

"Both of you!" Connie shouted. "Ethan shouldn't have done that in the first place but Cal, you should have just allowed Lily to let her think it was from her dad instead of force Ethan into telling her."

"But she would have gone looking for him!" Cal defended.

"That's her choice," Connie said. "And she would have given up eventually, as soon as she realised that she wasn't going to find him." Cal faintly nodded but rolled his eyes all the same. "I'll go and find her. I think it'd be best if you both stayed here, you can talk to her later Ethan."

Connie wandered off to find Lily, noticing that she was sat on the bottom of the staircase with her chin resting on her hands. She sighed deeply and perched on the stairs beside her.

"I talked to them," she said. "But Ethan was only trying to do a nice thing for you."

"I know," Lily whispered. "But it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me and I can't help but wish it was from my dad."

"I know honey," Connie said sympathetically and stroked her hair. "What did Cal get you for your birthday?"

"A cat," Lily replied with a small smile.

"What?" Connie gasped. "A real one?" Lily nodded faintly. "Wow. What a nice big brother you have."

Lily nodded, not in the mood to correct her. "It was nice of him," she whispered. "But all I wanted was for that card to be real."

"Hey," Connie comforted and gave Lily's hair a stroke. "You are an amazing woman, Lily Chao and you have a father out there who is a complete and utter jerk for not wanting to know you and one day I'm sure he will stand up and try and look for his baby girl."

"I doubt it," Lily whispered and shook her head. "He left when my mum was pregnant with me. He never wanted kids."

"He'll find you, Lily," Connie said and placed a finger under Lily's chin, lifting her face so that she was looking at her. "But until then you have a family. They may not be your real family but they do love you and they do care about you. That includes me as well, okay?"

"Okay." Lily nodded at her. "Thank you."

"Now go on birthday girl," Connie said and patted her back. "Go and find Ethan and talk to him because I think he pretty much regrets what he did. He wants to apologise, go on."

Lily nodded and gave Connie a brief hug, before going to look for Ethan. He was sat on the sofa in the staffroom. Lily shut the door behind her and sat next to him.

"I'm sorry," he apologised, as soon as she sat down. "I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Don't be," Lily said and shook her head. "It...It was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me."

"Really?" Ethan's eyes went wide. "But you..."

"So I threw a chair?" Lily asked. "I...I do that when I don't know how to react. I can't control my emotions so when I don't know what to feel, I just get angry. It's who I am."

"So you're happy about the card?" Ethan asked.

"Like I said, it was a really nice thing for you to do," Lily told him. "And hey, it's the closest thing I'll ever get from my dad. But..."

"I knew there'd be a but," Ethan mumbled.

"I'm going to find my dad," Lily said.

"What?" Ethan asked in shock. "But..."

"Don't try to stop me," Lily said. "Your card got me thinking. My dad must be out there somewhere, there must be someone who knows who he is. So I'm going to try and find him, and I need you to help me."

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter and Happy New Year's to everyone. I'm just spending New Year's Eve at home :)**


	15. Hidden Secrets

**Hi guys, I'm unable to thank each person individually I'm afraid because it looks like the reviews are down. I can't see the ones I received for the latest chapter even though I got emails through about them and it'd take ages to go through every single email haha. It looks like others are experiencing the same problem. Thanks for everyone who did review though and here is the next chapter :)**

Chapter Fifteen: Hidden Secrets

"Lily, you can't!" Ethan yelled, as he and Lily raced through the front door. Ethan had offered to go and buy cat food and stuff after work so that Cal could go straight home and prepare the special birthday dinner that he'd been planning for Lily. Lily just threw the bags of cat stuff down in the living room, completely ignoring him. "Lily!" Ethan hissed, hurrying after her. "You can't go and look for your dad."

"Why not?" Lily asked.

"Because he could be anywhere in the world," Ethan said. "And you don't even know anything about him. Cal would be well angry."

"I never knew any of my parents," Lily told Ethan. "I know it could take ages to find him and I know that he probably doesn't even want to know who I am but I want to find him, Ethan."

"Can I ask you something though?" Ethan asked and Lily nodded at him. "Why do you want me to help you?"

"Because," Lily sighed. "I can't do it on my own and I know for a fact that Cal won't agree to help me."

"Cal needs to know though," Ethan whispered.

"Please don't tell him," Lily whined.

"Tell me what?" Cal asked, walking into the room. "Glad you two have made up. Did you get everything?"

Lily nodded at him. "Yeah," she whispered. "Ethan and I are friends now."

"Good." Cal smiled. He seemed to have forgot that Ethan and Lily were talking about something secret before he entered the room. "How was your day, Lils? No bad behaviour or negative comments from Mrs Beauchamp, well, apart from when you threw the chair but that wasn't entirely your fault." He winked at her and gestured towards Ethan.

"Hey!" Ethan yelled, jokingly hitting his brother on the arm.

"No, and she got me a bar of chocolate and a card for my birthday," Lily said. "I'm going to go and change and say hi to Monty," Lily then said and rushed off to her room.

"Well don't be long!" Cal called after her and turned back to his younger brother. "I'm sorry, about going off on one."

"It's fine," Ethan said and shrugged his shoulders. "You were right. I...I shouldn't have given her a card and said that it was from her dad."

"Okay," Cal sighed and glanced towards Lily's bedroom door. "Where the hell is she? Hey, could you maybe sort drinks out for me? Everything else is set out on the table but I'm going to go and see Lily, check if she's okay."

"Why wouldn't she be?" Ethan asked. "She seemed fine when we were shopping."

"She sometimes gets quite low on her birthday," Cal said. "I'd just rather see if she's okay."

Ethan nodded and Cal headed off to Lily's bedroom. She was still in the same clothes, sat on the bed whilst stroking Monty. He smiled at her and shut the door but when she looked up, she was glaring at him.

"What's up?" He asked, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"Just go away," Lily mumbled. "You ruin everything for me."

"What?" Cal frowned.

"Telling Ethan that he had to tell me that card was from him," Lily said. "If he hadn't have said anything, everything would have been okay. You've never been a brother to me Cal, you're just determined to ruin everything good that happens to me."

"That is not true!" Cal shouted at her. "If you'd have thought that card was really from your dad, you would have tried to look for him."

"I'm still going to!" Lily shouted back.

"For goodness sake," Cal muttered and rolled his eyes. "When will you ever grow up, Lily? Your dad doesn't want to know you, that's why he hasn't ever tried to find you?"

"How do you know?" Lily asked. "He could have done!"

"Lily..."

"Just leave me the fuck alone!" Lily screamed, grabbed a cushion from her bed and chucked it at Cal.

Cal immediately held his hands to his face but Lily wasn't done. She grabbed one of her glass ornaments from her bedside table and chucked that as well. It hit Cal in the face before hitting the floor and smashing into pieces. Blood dripped from Cal's face and he hissed in pain, holding a hand to the cut. He sniffed and looked at Lily in shock, there was a new emotion in his eyes though and that was fear.

* * *

Ethan was in the middle of setting the drinks out on the table, when his mobile began to ring. He finished off what he was doing and quickly answered it, holding it between his ear and shoulder.

"Hello?" He sighed. "Yes. Look, now isn't a good time." He rolled his eyes and quickly shut the kitchen door so that Cal and Lily wouldn't hear. "Because I said so, look, I'll do it. Okay?"

He gulped anxiously, as he heard the sound of Lily's bedroom door opening. The kitchen door remained shut though.

"I'll do it," he sighed into the phone, his eyes fixated on the door. "I'll get the money."

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)**


	16. Discussions

**Tato Potato: Hopefully :)**

 **CBloom2: It's quite nice to write Ethan being the dodgy one for a change :)**

 **ETWentHome: He does and you'll soon find out about Ethan :)**

Chapter Sixteen: Discussions

"You should get someone to take a look at that," Ethan said to his brother, as the two of them walked into the ED the next morning. Cal just shook his head, trying to hide his wound with his fringe. "So what happened again?"

"Lily was kicking off," Cal sighed. "I um...I was trying to restrain her and whacked my head on the corner of the shelf."

It wasn't necessarily a lie. Lily had been kicking off but Cal didn't want to tell his brother that she'd chucked a glass at him. He'd cleaned the mess up, wiped away the blood and calmed Lily down before Ethan even noticed.

"I'm just saying it looks sore," Ethan whispered. "I'm sure Mrs Beauchamp wouldn't mind taking a look."

"We'll see," Cal muttered under his breath.

Ethan's mobile phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket to see that three new messages had come through. He stared at his phone for a while before shoving it back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" Cal asked nosily.

"Oh..." Ethan gulped and shrugged his shoulders. "Stupid PIP stuff, isn't it? Come on, I fancy a coffee."

"You know, I never understand how they get people's numbers," Cal said.

"What?" Ethan frowned at him in confusion, making his way into the staffroom.

"PIP, loan companies, things like that that constantly text and email people about things," Cal said. "I never understand how they get our numbers."

"Mystery," Ethan sighed and shrugged. "Do you fancy a coffee?"

Cal shook his head. "None for me thanks. Why don't you just go and buy one in the shop? Saves making one yourself."

"I um...I don't have any money on me..." Ethan blatantly lied, avoiding eye contact with his older brother.

"It's the coffee girl, isn't it?" Cal asked. "You fancy her? Come on dude, it's so obvious."

"I don't fancy her," Ethan hissed, clenching his teeth together. "You don't know what you're talking about." There was a loud scream and Ethan glanced across at Cal, still in the middle of making a coffee. "Wasn't that Lily?" Cal nodded. "Well, aren't you going to go and check if she's okay?"

"I've just had enough in all honesty," Cal sighed. "Connie can deal with her for the time being."

"If she's that bad, she shouldn't be working Cal," Ethan said. "Haven't they thought about booking her off or something?"

"Connie's close to doing that," Cal said. "If anything, she seems to be getting worst."

"It's just something to consider."

* * *

Lily picked up the cushion that Connie had placed on the floor and hit her with it. Connie pursed her lips together and tried to grab it back but Lily just chucked it at the wall and screamed. Connie grabbed hold of her wrists in an attempt to restrain her but unfortunately as Lily had grown older, she had also grown stronger. Connie was beginning to lose all patients when Zoe walked in.

"Shut the door!" Connie shouted and Zoe quickly slammed it shut, before Lily could make a run for it. "Thank you," she whispered, kneeling on the floor to try and pin Lily down. She just lashed out, knocking the pen pot straight off of the table. "Stop!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Zoe asked. "You know we're not allowed to restrain her on our own."

"I know," Connie sighed. "But I'm the only one here. I left my pager in my office and I couldn't leave her in here on her own or she'd cause havoc."

"Where's Cal?" Zoe asked.

"It isn't fair to be asking Cal all the time," Connie said. "He probably has to deal with this at home as well. Lily, stop it!"

"Why did she kick off?" Zoe asked.

Connie shrugged her shoulder and reached for the cushion, placing it behind Lily's head so that she wouldn't injure herself. "No idea," she answered. "It just happened. Can you get me some more cushions from the staffroom and my office?"

Zoe nodded her head and left the board room in silence. Lily whimpered and made noises as she whacked her head against the cushion. Connie held onto her arms, keeping her pinned to the floor in case she began to lash out again. Zoe soon came back and tossed her a few more cushions.

"Has she calmed down?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Connie sighed, placing the cushions on the floor. "I'm going to let go now, Lily," she said and slowly let go of Lily's arms, before standing up. "Not a good start to the day," she said to Zoe. "We have got to get her tested."

"Wasn't she tested as a child?" Zoe asked.

"That was like what, ten years ago?" Connie said. "Maybe even more. This behaviour at twenty six years of age clearly shows that there's something wrong. Ask Cal and I bet he would agree with me."

Zoe sighed and glanced down at Lily who remained on the floor and had drifted off to sleep.

"Well, she clearly won't be working today," Connie said. "Keep her in here for now, I don't really want to move her."

"Well where are you going?" Zoe asked.

"I'm going to go and find Cal," Connie said and walked out. He found him in reception, discussing a patient with Charlie. She cleared her throat and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Lily's had another outburst," she whispered.

"I know," he sighed. "I heard the screaming. Sorry, I..."

"No, it's okay," Connie said. "What happened to your head?"

"Oh..." Cal held a hand to his wound and his eyes widened. He'd forgotten about that. "I...I was trying to restrain Lily and I hit my head on a shelf."

"Well, it'll need looking at," Connie said. "As a doctor, you should have known that instead of trying to hide it."

"Sorry," Cal apologised quietly with his head hung. "How's Lily anyway?"

"Tired," Connie replied. "I'm going to look at getting her tested again. It's been a while Cal and honestly she's just gradually getting worst."

"She can't help it," Cal pointed out.

"I know and that's the worrying thing," Connie said. "She needs someone constantly with her in case she ends up having a meltdown. This behaviour may have been fine as a child but as an adult, we all know that it isn't." Cal sniffed and nodded. "Now come on, get into a cubicle so I can get that wound checked out."

"Can I ask you something?" Cal asked, as he perched on the edge of a bed in a cubicle.

"Sure," Connie said, pulling on a pair of gloves.

"Say in ten, twenty years time," Cal said. "Will...Will Lily need to go in some kind of home or...Or psychiatric ward do you think?"

"Cal," Connie sighed. "I don't want that to happen to Lily either which is why I'm determined to get her checked out, to see if we can get a diagnosis. She has a lot of support around her and that's the main thing. How are things going with the family support worker?"

"Okay." Cal shrugged. "She's popping round next week to check how things are."

"This looks quite a bad cut, Cal," Connie said, clearly distracted by his head wound. "It shouldn't need stitches though. Are you sure you hit it on a shelf?" Cal nodded as Connie picked out a shard of glass and held it up to him. Cal gulped, feeling sick at the thought of what had just come out of his skin. "Okay. You have been walking around with a piece of glass in your head, Cal. That isn't clever. My main question is though, how the hell did that get embedded in your forehead?"

"Um...It was a glass shelf..." Cal stammered.

"Cal," Connie sighed and tilted her head on one side. "What happened?"

"Fine," Cal gave in. "Lily lashed out and she chucked a glass ornament at me. She's never normally that bad though, it was just the whole thing about her dad and stuff...She got angry."

"Let's not talk about it now," Connie said. "Let's just get you sorted out first. Then we'll discuss Lily."

"Mrs Beauchamp, you have to believe me," Cal said. "She's never normally that bad."

"I know," Connie said and shook her head. "We'll help her. Don't worry."


	17. Possible Problems

**Agirlwithgreatpotential: Me too :)**

 **ETWentHome: It might and if Lily is diagnosed, it could certainly help her. Poor everyone indeed :)**

Chapter Seventeen: Possible Problems

Julie had come round to visit Cal and Lily at home again. She'd been trying to visit them at least twice a week and Cal found that it was starting to help slightly. Even Lily was growing used to the idea and looked forward to seeing her. Ethan was in the kitchen eating dinner whilst Cal sat on the sofa talking with Julie about the glass throwing incident.

"Does she get like that a lot?" Julie sighed.

"Mostly," Cal whispered. "Ethan...Ethan doesn't really know though. I try to keep it from him if possible."

"Okay," Julie said, as she wrote notes down in her pad.

"Cal!" Lily yelled, hurrying into the room with a dolls house sized duvet. "Look what I made," she said, sticking it in his face. "Cool, huh? I've made a pink one as well, that's in my room."

"Later princess," Cal said. "This is important right now."

"What have you been making, Lily?" Julie asked.

"Oh," Lily said and smiled at her. "When I was younger, Cal's mum bought me a dolls house. I loved it and it was one where you could get kits to make things for it and stuff and then you could get little paint sets as well. It was the one thing that calmed me down so now I carry on doing it, more as a hobby though. I make the things and set them all out in the house, I don't play with them anymore. I just put together this little bedding set, it required a lot of sewing and it took me a while but I enjoyed it."

"That sounds like something you're really passionate about," Julie said.

"Yeah," Cal chuckled. "She's very creative. Mum always said that."

"So what do you think about all of this, Lily?" Julie asked. "I'd like your opinion. I'm sure it was easier when you were a child, now not so much maybe?"

"No," Lily sighed. "When I was a child I didn't really know what was going on. Now I'm in my twenties and I get into trouble for hurting people when it's just something that I can't control. It's like...It's like when you fill a balloon with air, you keep on filling the balloon with air and at first it's fine but then eventually too much air causes it to explode. That's kind of how I get. The littlest thing gets me on edge and then too many little things piled on top of each other causes me to get angry and lash out at absolutely anyone."

"That's a beautiful way of looking at it," Julie said, amazed that she'd described her feelings in such a simple yet beautiful way.

"You never explained that to me," Cal said to Lily.

Lily didn't answer though and just fiddled with the dolls sized duvet.

"Cal, why don't you go and get yourself a cup of tea?" Julie suggested. "I'd like to sit and chat with Lily myself if that's okay, alone."

"Really?" Cal asked and Julie nodded. "Um...Okay...Just...Get me if you need me then, I guess."

Cal walked off to join his brother in the kitchen, making sure to shut the door behind him. Julie watched Lily sort out the bits she'd made before deciding to talk.

"So Lily, it's been a pretty tough week for you," she mentioned and Lily just shrugged her shoulders. "How have you been holding up?" She shrugged again, her eyes on the duvet cover. "Well, Cal tells me you're being tested for Aspergers."

"Yeah," she whispered, without looking up to make eye contact.

"Weren't you tested as a child?" Julie asked.

"I was." Lily nodded. "But I was never diagnosed. Connie wants me tested again though because she thinks my behaviour is getting worst and she gets upset when I get angry. She says it isn't normal for someone of my age to get that upset about things."

"Well, I can imagine that you get quite upset as well," Julie guessed. "And it could be possible, Lily. Aspergers is difficult to diagnose and it can be diagnosed at any age at all. I've noticed that when you speak you say things as they are and you go into a lot of detail with it and that explanation about the balloon filled with air was a lovely explanation of how you must be feeling. I think if you try to explain that to everyone you know including Connie then they'd understand a little bit more."

"So do you think that I could have something wrong with me?" Lily asked.

"Maybe," Julie said. "Of course we'll never really know until you have a diagnosis though. I think Connie just wants to double check because she doesn't like to see you acting out like this with no actual explanation. Do you struggle with emotions? Do you struggle to tell people how you feel?"

"Yeah," Lily whispered. "Usually. That's why I get angry with them."

"Have you got an appointment yet?" Julie asked.

"Monday," Lily said. "Connie referred me to see someone, a psychiatrist. It took a while for the appointment to come through though. Connie said it'll be fine, I'll just be asked questions about my developmental history from when I was young, Cal will need to be there to answer some questions about my childhood as well. Then I think a while after that, I'll receive a letter in the post saying whether I have Aspergers or not."

"Wow, so you seem to know the procedure then," Julie stated. "Are you working at the moment?"

"Not at the moment," Lily answered. "I might not be able to return to work."

"And how do you feel about that?" Julie asked.

"Upset," Lily said. "I like being a doctor. It's what I was made to do. I don't know what I'd do if I could never be a doctor again."

"What do you mean by that?" Julie asked. "What would you do if you could never be a doctor again?"

Lily glanced up at her out of the corner of her eye and shrugged her shoulders before whispering, "kill myself."

 **This chapter took a while because I found it quite hard to write. I had to do a lot of research about diagnosis for Aspergers in adults, I wanted to get the chapter as near to correct as possible so I hope it was okay :)**


	18. The First Test

**ETWentHome: It is worrying. Let's hope she gets the help she needs :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: Thanks for that information, very helpful. Lily loves being a doctor so it will probably crush her unfortunately. Good points well made :)**

 **Agirlwithgreatpotential: Thank you very much :)**

Chapter Eighteen: The First Test

"I think I'm actually more nervous than Lily," Cal whispered, as he sat back in the uncomfortable, plastic chair with his arms folded. "Look at her," he added, gesturing towards Lily who was jumping around whilst playing on a portable video game that Ethan had leant to her. "She doesn't even look nervous."

"I'm sure she is," Connie sighed, looking up from her magazine. "She's just trying to distract herself, isn't she? Lily! Come and sit down now."

"Do you think she is autistic?" Cal asked. "She's never been diagnosed but she...She has the traits."

"We don't know for sure yet," Connie said. "It's a difficult diagnosis. Either way, we need to sort something out with her behaviour. Lily!" She shouted again and Lily came and sat back down next to Cal. "Well done."

"Cal, look!" Lily shouted, shoving the game in his face to show him something.

"For goodness sake, stop!" Cal shouted back.

"Cal," Connie scolded quietly and shook her head.

"She's embarrassing me," Cal hissed. "People are going to stare and judge us if they see a woman of her age behaving like that."

"Leave it," Connie warned him.

The door opened and an old man with glasses and a moustache walked out. He smiled at the three of them and fiddled with his glasses for a second, his eyes fixated on Lily.

"Lily Chao," he spoke. "If you'd like to come in." He then turned to Connie. "I would like to speak to Lily alone, then I'll call you and Caleb in if that's okay."

"That's fine," Connie said and rubbed Lily's shoulder. "Good luck sweetie. We'll be waiting out here for you."

Lily anxiously fiddled with her shirt sleeve and followed the man inside. The office was small with only a desk and two chairs, and a very small children's play table in the corner.

"So my name is Craig," he introduced himself. "I just wanted to ask you a few questions if that's okay. How old are you, Lily?"

"Um...Twenty...Twenty eight," Lily stuttered and sat down, tightening her ponytail and hanging her head so that she wasn't looking Craig in the eyes. "Twenty eight," she repeated in a quiet voice.

"Okay, what's your family like?" Craig questioned, taking his own seat.

"I...I never knew my dad," she replied. "Or my mum. My mum abandoned me when I was a baby, then she killed herself. I've been living with Cal and his mum but his mum died of cancer, now I still live with Cal and his brother who has just recently shown up."

"Wow." Craig nodded his head, attempting to take it all in. "That's a lot of information. Cal's sort of like your brother then?" Lily nodded. "Have you got any medical problems at all? Any illnesses?"

Lily shook her head. "No," she whispered. "None."

"But your behaviour has always been quite bad?" Craig asked. "What were you like at school?"

"Quite naughty," Lily said. "Clever though, but things upset me and people didn't understand me so I was bullied and I acted out and always got into trouble."

"You've been tested before for things, right?" He asked and Lily nodded again, her eyes plastered to the ground. "Do you have difficulty making eye contact, Lily?" Craig asked.

"What?" Lily asked. "Huh?"

"You're not looking at me," Craig stated. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," Lily answered, scratching at the arms of her chair. "You have a really messy office."

"Is it bothering you?" Craig asked.

"No," Lily whispered, continuing to claw at the chair.

"Why don't I call your brother in now?" Craig sighed. "You can go and take a seat with Connie." Lily glanced at him briefly and eyed him suspiciously. She gave a faint nod and headed outside, telling Cal that Craig wanted to see him. Cal nodded nervously and walked into the office.

"How'd it go?" Connie asked Lily.

"I want to go home," Lily whispered to her.

"Well, we can't yet," Connie laughed. "What's wrong?"

"He kept asking me questions," she said and sat down next to her. "I...I think I answered them wrong."

"Well there's no right or wrong answer, Lily," Connie said. "It's just your opinion."

"But...If...If I get diagnosed with something, then it'd be all my fault," Lily told her. "Cal will blame me and then...He...He'll be even more annoyed at me than he is now."

"Now that isn't true," Connie reassured her and wrapped an arm round her shoulder. "Come on. Let's have a look through this magazine together."

"You know Cal and I have this family support worker?" Lily asked, peering at the magazine article that Connie was reading. She looked too involved in the magazine but nodded at her anyway. "She was asking me about work."

"Was she?" Connie asked, eyes focused on the magazine.

"Yes." Lily nodded. "And she asked me how I'd feel if I couldn't be a doctor again."

"And what did you say?" Connie asked.

"That I'd kill myself," Lily admitted. "I like being a doctor, Connie. It's what I do best."

"That's a bit extreme though, don't you think?" Connie said, eventually looking at her. "This is the sort of behaviour that I was telling you about. That's why you're being tested."

"But I'd still be able to be a doctor, won't I?" Lily asked.

Connie hesitated and sighed. "We'll see," she just said and closed her magazine, placing it on the empty chair beside her. "What do you want to do after this then? Cal and I have both booked the day off work so we're all yours."

"We could go out for a meal," Lily suggested. "I'm kind of hungry."

"That sounds like a good plan," Connie said. "Have a think about where you'd like to go."

Craig wanted to speak to both Cal and Connie and Lily was getting more and more nervous by the minute. The truth was, she was terrified of getting a diagnosis. She didn't want to be labelled, to be known as a freak. There had been one boy at her school once and he had Autism and not many people talked to him because of it. She knew that it was different in adulthood but she was still scared. Eventually the assessment was over though and they didn't even get an answer at the end of it.

Instead, Lily was just booked in for another appointment.


	19. Coping

**ETWentHome: Yeah and it might do. And that is exactly what Lily needs :)**

 **Guest: Let's hope not :)**

Chapter Nineteen: Coping

It took a while but Lily eventually had the diagnosis that everyone had been waiting for, Aspergers. Connie knew that she wouldn't be able to work, not for the moment anyway. Knowing that she'd be upset, they gave her small jobs to do in the ED, stuff like tidying and sorting out the paperwork. One day it was a quiet day at the ED and Lily was tidying Connie's office for her. Connie walked in to see Lily kneeling on the floor, rummaging through a stack of papers.

"Lily, that looks fine now," Connie told her. "Thank you."

"It isn't finished yet," Lily said and continued with what she was doing.

"That doesn't matter," Connie said. "I'm happy with it. Go and take a break."

Lily slammed a load of papers down on the desk and yelled, "it does matter!"

"Lily. Lily, get your head together," Connie said. "It's just paperwork, sweetheart."

"It's not just paperwork," Lily argued. "It's un-sorted paperwork! It needs to be completed."

"Come on, get up," Connie sighed. "I know this is difficult but you have to leave it alone." Lily carried on though, she didn't even look at Connie. Connie pursed her lips together, beginning to lose her patience. "Lily. I want you to go and take a break, up you get."

"Who...Who will do it?" Lily asked quietly. "If...If I don't?"

"I will," Connie said. "I'll finish it off. Come on." Lily nodded but slowly carried on with what she was doing. "Lily!" Connie yelled and walked over to take a hold of her arm. Lily screamed, lashing out at her so Connie immediately took a step back and held her hands up.

"Don't touch me!" She shouted at the clinical lead.

"Sweetheart," Connie sighed and crouched down on the floor beside her. "Tidying my office is not important, okay? Yes it was a mess but I only asked you to do it so that you had something to do. You don't need to finish it."

"Yes I do," Lily growled through gritted teeth.

"What's this really about?" Connie asked. "Talk to me."

"I...I'm scared..." Lily whispered through her tears. "I just want to feel normal, I didn't want to be diagnosed with Aspergers. I've gone my whole life without diagnosis so I could quite easily manage now!" And she slapped the palm of her hand against the side of the desk.

"You can still be a doctor," Connie said. "You're amazing at your job but we just want you to get settled first and get used to your diagnosis."

"I'll never get used to it," Lily whispered and shook her head, before running a hand through her tangled mess of hair.

"There are a lot of famous people out there with Aspergers," Connie told her. "Susan Boyle, Alfred Hitchcock, Isaac Newton, Jane Austen, Albert Einstein. They've all gone on to do great things, Lily. It doesn't mean that life is over for you."

"Cal's going to hate me though," Lily said.

"Now why would he hate you?" Connie asked with a small smile. "He's your brother."

"He is not my brother," Lily reminded her. "And he already thinks I'm a freak. He already gets annoyed with my behaviour."

"I think he was just worried for you," Connie said. "He wanted you to get a diagnosis as much as anyone, it's just so we know how to help you." Lily nodded, looking down at the floor and fiddling with the sleeves of her shirt. "Why don't you go and get some lunch? I will finish the tidying."

"You don't know the system," Lily said.

"Okay," Connie laughed. "Then tell me the system."

"Everything is being organised alphabetically," Lily said. "And the objects on the desk all have to be centred and at least a couple of centimetres away from each other."

"Well, I can do that," Connie said. "You go and get some food in you. I don't want you passing out."

"Did you want anything?" Lily asked and stood up from the floor.

"No thank you, gorgeous," Connie said. "Thank you very much for the offer though."

Lily nodded and hurried out of Connie's office. She headed off to the staffroom and saw Ethan sat back on the sofa, fiddling on his mobile phone. He smiled at her when she walked in.

"Have you seen Cal?" She asked and sat down on the sofa as well.

"Sorry," he sighed. "I haven't. How are you doing?"

"Good." Lily nodded, anxiously twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "Did you want to go to the pub this evening? Robyn had um...Had asked if I wanted to go but I'm kind of nervous to go on my own and Cal's working late."

"Sorry," he repeated himself, sounding even quieter. "I um...I...I have stuff going on this evening."

"What stuff?" Lily asked.

"Just..." Ethan trailed off and shrugged his shoulders. "Stuff."

"If you don't want to hang out with me, you can just say so," Lily whispered, fiddling with her glasses. "You don't need to make up some unrealistic lie."

"It isn't that Lily," Ethan reassured her. "I promise. I do have something on this evening, it's just a private matter that's all. How about tomorrow? Would that be okay?"

"What time?" Lily asked him.

"Um...Say...Five thirty?" Ethan asked. "It gives us time to finish work."

"That sounds good," Lily said, nodding with a smile on her face. "Thank you."

"I have to get back to work," Ethan said, standing up. "Um...Could you do me a favour?" Lily nodded. "Don't tell Cal about my plans this evening."

"But I don't know what your plans are," Lily said.

"I know," Ethan sighed. "Just don't tell him that I talked to you about them, okay?"

"Yeah," Lily whispered. "Sure."

"Thank you," Ethan thanked her and then he was gone and out the room.

 **Hope you liked it :)**


	20. Breaking In

**Agirlwithgreatpotential: Thank you :)**

 **Tato Potato: She is and you'll see in this chapter :)**

 **ETWentHome: Yeah poor Lily and Ethan's plans will be revealed :)**

Chapter Twenty: Breaking In

Lily was in her room that night doing some work on the laptop when her mobile began to ring. She checked the caller ID and saw that it was Ethan. Frowning in confusion, she answered it. There was a muffled noise and she could hear heavy breathing so she spoke again. Soon, Ethan answered.

"L...Lily..." He whispered in a croaky voice.

"Ethan, it's the middle of the night," Lily whispered, in an attempt not to wake Cal up. "What are you doing ringing me at this hour?"

"I...I need your help with something, please," he begged.

"But I can't," Lily said, gulping anxiously. "Ethan, no."

"Why?" Ethan asked. "Look Lily, I'm sorry okay? I really need some help here, I'll help look for your dad but please help me."

"It's the middle of the night," Lily repeated, her hands shaking so much that she was almost dropping the phone. "You can't bribe me like that, Ethan. I'll tell Cal."

"I thought we were friends," Ethan whispered. "I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate."

Lily gulped and bit her lip. She faintly nodded her head and whispered a small 'okay' down the phone before asking where he was. She hung up, grabbed her backpack and stuffed her Tigger toy inside for comfort. She was scared but ages ago when she was a child, Cal had said that she needed to be there for her friends because that was what friends did. She left the flat in silence and headed out into the darkness to look for Ethan. He was exactly where he said he'd be.

"You came," he whispered.

"Can we...Can we make this quick?" She asked, looking around the streets.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked. "You...You're not scared of the dark, are you?"

"So..So what if I am?" Lily stuttered.

She didn't like it. Ethan seemed different, like not himself.

"What...What do you need me for?" Lily whispered.

"See that house?" Ethan asked, gesturing towards a huge, posh house that had probably cost the owner millions. "They have a room stacked full of jewellery, probably worth millions on the internet."

"What?" Lily asked. "You want to steal it? Ethan, we can't do that."

"Hey, I promised my mate that I'd get the money," Ethan said. "A promise is a promise, just like I promised you that I'd help find your dad."

"But we can't steal," Lily said. "What do you need me for anyway?"

"I...I need someone...Someone small..." Ethan said. "To climb through the living room window." Lily shook her head, backing away from him. "Come on, I know you're autistic but you don't need to use that as an excuse to back out of things."

"Don't say that!" Lily yelled. "I wish that I could use it as an excuse Ethan but I can't, because it's fucking true."

"Okay, okay, keep your voice down," Ethan hissed. "You'll wake up the whole neighbourhood."

"What's the matter with you?" Lily asked, noticing that his eyes were all bloodshot. "You're not the Ethan who I know, you're different." She gulped and looked him in the eyes. "Have you been taking drugs?"

"No," Ethan scoffed. "Now, are you going to help me or what?"

"Your friend," Lily said. "Who is it?"

"It's not a friend, all right?" Ethan whispered. "It's my dad."

Lily didn't say anything. She just took a deep breath and walked down the garden path towards the open living room window. She climbed in slowly, ducking her head under so that she didn't hit herself. Once inside, she jumped down and removed the bag from her back. She unzipped the top and pulled Tigger out, giving him a cuddle to try and comfort herself. She gulped and looked around the room, noticing a few ornaments and some glass cases stacked with jewellery. She stood up and began walking across the room, grabbing a few of the ornaments and stuffing them into the pockets of her jacket. She turned round and saw that a German Shepard had walked in. She told people that she was allergic but really dogs was a huge fear of hers.

"Um...Nice...Good...Good boy..." She stuttered.

The dog started barking and she gasped and stepped back, knocking into the glass cabinet. The cabinet crashed to the floor, causing her to jump out the way just in time and the alarms sounded. A light went on upstairs and a man's voice could be heard. Lily clutched Tigger and made a grab for her backpack, rushing towards the open window. She climbed out, her arm scratching against the metal lock. Jumping down, she stumbled and legged it down the garden. Ethan took the bag from her and the two of them began racing through the streets at full speed.

"How much did you get?" He asked, as they ducked down an alleyway to hide from whoever might have been following them.

"Hardly...Hardly anything," Lily whispered, tears trickling down her face. She brought out the ornaments and dropped them into the top of her bag.

"Don't cry," Ethan whispered and shook his head.

"Sorry," she apologised and sniffed. "That was just...That was so scary. I hate being so fucking sensitive."

"Hey, come here," Ethan soothed and pulled her in for a hug, immediately feeling guilty. "I'm sorry. I should have never asked you to help me, I'm such a jerk."

"Why are you getting money for your dad?" Lily asked, continuing to hold her Disney toy in her arms.

Ethan shrugged. "He needs it," he whispered. "He's been contacting me, asking me to do these things so that he can then sell the stuff for money."

"He's not a very good father, is he?" Lily asked. "Is this why Cal doesn't like him?"

"Yeah," Ethan sighed. "When we were kids, Dad took me out for the day. He...He made me sneak into someone's house, told me to steal their PlayStation and stuff. Mum went nuts when she found out and Cal hates his guts."

"But you still do that stuff," Lily stated. "Why?"

"I don't know," Ethan said. "I guess...I don't know, Lily. I've grown up with it, I don't want Dad to hate me."

"He wouldn't hate you," Lily said.

"But he hates Cal," Ethan said. "And that's because Cal refused to do anything like that. I was an idiot, I was a daddy's boy so did what he told me to do." Lily faintly nodded. "You know, being diagnosed with Asperger's isn't the end of the world. It doesn't mean that you have to hide away from everyone."

"I know," Lily whispered.

"You have it very mildly," Ethan said. "I'd think of it as a gift, a special gift that makes you special."

"That's what Connie said," Lily told him. "Thank you."

"Can we maybe keep this between us?" Ethan asked. "And not tell Cal? I know he's our brother and..."

"Course we can," Lily said.

Ethan smiled and wrapped an arm around her and the two of them headed off back home. Once they entered the flat though, Cal was standing in the middle of the living room with his arms crossed.

"Where the hell have you been?" He asked. "What happened to Tigger?" He questioned, noticing that the stuffed animal's paw had been torn. "And your arm," he added, spotting the bloody cut on Lily's arm. "What the hell have you two been doing?"

"Sorry," Lily whispered and hung her head.

"What have you done?" Cal asked. He glared at Ethan and snatched Lily's backpack out of his hand. Rummaging around inside, he brought out the ornaments that Lily had stolen. "Have you been working for Dad again?" He snapped. "And you've involved Lily!"

"Cal," Ethan went to say. "I..."

"Don't even bother!" Cal shouted. "I don't care what you do with your life, okay? Leave Lily out of it though!" He threw the bag at him and placed an arm around Lily. "Come on sweetheart, I'll make you a hot chocolate and get that arm cleaned up."

"I really am sorry," Ethan said.

Cal wasn't listening though. He just took Lily through to the kitchen and slammed the door shut in his brother's face.

 **I hope you liked it. Ethan is out of character in this story but that's to go with the plot and stuff :)**


	21. Help and Apologies

**ETWentHome: Let's hope so :)**

 **Tato Potato: Haha definitely :)**

 **CBloom2: It was hard to write :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: That is true. It was just a good plot to add into the story. Ethan did seem genuinely sorry so let's hope that Cal can forgive him. More to come :)**

Chapter Twenty One: Help and Apologies

Lily tried to scream, as the restraint mask was tied to her face. She tried to kick Connie who was crouched down in front of her and she tried to hit Charlie and Cal who both had a tight grip on each of her arms. It was no use though. She was pinned down on a chair in the spare board room, unable to go anywhere.

"All right, darling," Connie soothed, making sure that the mask was on tightly. "I know it isn't pleasant but we don't want you to hurt yourself or anyone else."

"This is Ethan's fault," Cal hissed through gritted teeth.

"What's Ethan done wrong?" Charlie asked him. "Lily's been like this for years, it isn't anyone's fault."

"THIS..." Cal gestured towards Lily with his head. "This is his fault, this outburst! He took Lily out with him in the middle of the night and he made her break into someone's house to steal stuff."

"He did?" Connie asked in complete shock.

"Yes!" Cal snapped. "He can't be trained to restrain her, I don't want him anywhere near her!"

"Okay, calm down," Connie said. "Why was Ethan stealing?"

"He's been doing it for years," Cal told her. "He does it to help our dad out with money. I don't want him anywhere near her."

The door opened and Lofty walked in with a glass of water. He'd been sent to get one for when Lily was calm and in need of a drink. He placed it on the table and Connie thanked him, as he stood there and watched for a short time.

"Do you need me to help with anything?" He offered.

"No, Lofty," Connie gasped in pain and shook her head. "You're not fully trained yet and Lily is strong. Thank you for offering though."

"We know what Lily is like though," Charlie sighed. "She lashes out at anything. It doesn't mean that it's Ethan's fault."

"She lashes out when she's upset about something," Cal corrected him. "Because she doesn't know how to handle her feelings. I thought my brother had changed but clearly he hasn't."

"Okay, Lily," Connie calmed, trying her best to ignore Cal. "Can you calm down for me, hmmm? Come on." Lily just kicked her straight in the shin though, continuing to throw herself about.

"How about we play the alphabet game, Lily?" Lofty offered and knelt down on the floor beside Connie.

"Lofty, I said no," Connie hissed at him. "Get back to work."

"No, this works I promise," Lofty said and turned back to Lily. "Okay so the theme is films. You like films, right? I'll start, we're just going to go through the alphabet listing films that begin with those letters. So I'll start with A and I am going to go with American Beauty. Your turn."

Lily was silent. She kept kicking and waving her arms about, but she seemed to be calming down.

"B, Billy Elliot," Lofty continued. "Can you think of a film that starts with C?" Lily didn't say anything, but she was staring at him through the mask. "How about the Disney film, Cars?" Lofty said. "D?"

"Dirty Dancing," Lily whispered.

"Brilliant," Lofty praised. "What about E?"

"Edward Scissorhands," Lily said.

Connie gestured for Charlie to remove the mask and he slowly and carefully unstrapped the mask from Lily's face. Removing it gently, he placed it on the floor. Lily stopped kicking her legs and she stopped waving her arms around, as she carried on the alphabet game with Lofty. Once they reached S, Connie stopped them.

"How did you do that?" She questioned Lofty.

"Easy." Lofty shrugged his shoulders. "I used to go to therapy, it was a technique that my therapist taught me. It just distracts the person, works with all ages."

"Right," Connie said. "Thank you."

"Any time," Lofty said, picking up the glass of water and handing it to Lily before walking out.

"Maybe he is fully trained after all," Charlie said and shrugged his shoulders.

"No." Connie shook her head. "He hasn't tried to restrain her yet, has he? Are you okay now, Lily?" Lily faintly nodded, taking a few sips of her drink. "Is it true what Cal said about Ethan? Is that why you're upset?"

"I don't know," Lily whispered and handed the empty glass over to her.

"Just talk to her, Lily," Cal said. "He had no right to do that to you."

"Ethan's a good guy though," Lily whined. "I like him. He's my friend."

"Well he isn't a very good friend if that's how he treats you," Charlie mentioned. Lily went to hit him but both Connie and Cal made a grab for her arm. "I'll leave you three to it," the older man sighed and stood up to go and leave the room.

"That's why I hate our dad," Cal continued. "He...He always used to try and use me and Ethan, to sneak into houses and steal stuff. Being the youngest, Ethan always wanted to please our dad so he went along with it but I refused."

"What did your mum say about this?" Connie asked.

"She was terrified of him," Cal said. "So she never did anything to stop him. She just let Ethan get on with it as well, didn't want to cause any trouble. I thought Ethan had stopped working for him but I guess not."

"Ethan is obviously quite a troubled young lad," Connie said. "When I interviewed him, he said that he'd had some problems in the past but was willing to change that. He just needs his brother, Cal. Why don't you talk to him?"

"But..."

"I know that you're very protective of Lily but she's old enough to know that she shouldn't have gone with Ethan," Connie said.

"Excuse me?" Lily yelled, raising a hand.

"No!" Connie shouted, before Lily could hit her. "You do not hit someone just because they have told you something that you do not want to hear. Put your hand down." Lily kept her arm up. "Now!" Connie spoke sternly.

Lily lowered her arm and screamed, whacking her head back against the wall.

"For goodness sake!" Connie shouted, taking hold of Lily's hand and giving her head an inspection. "Listen to me, do you want to stay in the hospital tonight or do you actually want to go home with Cal? You are on thin ice young lady!"

"I might go and talk to him," Cal sighed and stood up from the floor, shaking the pins and needles out of his feet. "Thanks Connie."

Connie nodded at him, as he left the room. Ethan wasn't far away, just sitting in reception at the computer.

"Can I have a word?" Cal asked and sat next to him. Ethan sighed but nodded. "I'm sorry about...Everything."

"I should be the one saying sorry," Ethan sighed. "I'm not a child anymore and I...I shouldn't be listening to dad."

"I understand that it's hard," Cal said. "But you do need to tell him no. You could get into a lot of trouble one of these days Ethan, you almost did and you almost took Lily down with you."

"Is Lily okay?" Ethan asked. "I heard her screaming."

"She's settling," Cal said.

"You can ask for help, you know?" Ethan asked. "I know it's difficult at home with her but you can always ask for help."

"Thanks," Cal thanked him. "Just promise me that you won't ever do anything for dad ever again."

"I promise," Ethan said. "For now, it's just you and Lily. You two are what's important."

 **Let me know what you think :)**


	22. Detective Work

**CBloom2: Let's hope so :)**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: Thank you. I'm glad you like it :)**

Chapter Twenty Two: Detective Work

Ethan hid the thick book under his jacket and took a nervous breath, as he crawled along the floor. He listened out for any movement of Cal and when he didn't hear anything, he carried on. He reached up and turned the handle of Lily's bedroom door, before making his way inside. Lily was on the bed reading but she immediately sat up with a smile when she saw Ethan.

"I've got it," he whispered and shut the door behind him, before going to take a seat on the bed.

"Awesome," Lily said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Ethan reached into his jacket and pulled out the telephone directory that he'd been hiding. He smiled back and handed it over to her so that she could start looking through it straight away.

"Who else has the last name, Chao?" Lily asked rhetorically, opening the book up. "It must be extremely easy to find my dad."

"Yeah," Ethan agreed. "Probably."

"Is Cal asleep?" Lily asked. "He'd kill me if he knew that I was doing this."

"Don't worry," Ethan reassured her. "He's asleep."

"Shit," Lily cursed under her breath, her eyes fixated on the open book in front of her. "There are three men with my last name."

"Well, one of them has to be your dad right?" Ethan said. "It's a bit weird if there are three men with the last name Chao and none of them are related to you."

"But which one?" Lily asked. "And how will we know?"

"Easy," Ethan said and shrugged his shoulders. "Come on Lily, you're smart. This is the phone book, we get the phone numbers for these men, ring them up and ask them if they have a daughter called Lily. Then ask if they were ever in a relationship with a woman called Jane."

"I can't do that," Lily whined.

"Why?" Ethan sighed. "How else did you think we were going to find your dad, Lily?"

"I'm just scared," Lily said. "He probably doesn't want me. He would have tried to contact me by now if he did."

"That's not true," Ethan said. "He probably doesn't even know that you exist." Lily hung her head and anxiously scratched at her arms. "I can contact them for you if you want."

"I...I don't know what to do..." Lily whispered. "Ever since I...I found out about my mum's suicide, I've wanted to know who my dad is. It's been hard living with Cal and...And your mum, especially when I was a child because kids just laughed at me." She began to fiddle with the necklace that hung round her neck, the necklace that she'd been abandoned with. "Now I'm not even sure if I want to know who my dad is."

"That's just because you're scared," Ethan told her. "You're just nervous."

"I just don't have anything to tell me who my parents are," Lily said. "Apart from this necklace."

"Did that belong to your mum?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, it did," she answered. "She gave it to me when she left me on Cal's doorstep. As far as I can remember, I've worn it ever since I was a baby."

"It's pretty," Ethan whispered. "Look. We don't have to ring these men if you don't want to."

"Can you ring the first man?" Lily gulped nervously and glanced back down at the phone book. "Richard."

"Sure," Ethan said and took his mobile phone out of his pocket. Lily read out the contact number quietly and Ethan dialled before holding his phone to his ear. "Hello," he said, as soon as someone answered. "Um...Is this Richard Chao? It is. Cool, my name is Ethan Hardy and I just had a question for you. Were you ever in a relationship with a woman called Jane at all?"

Lily watched Ethan as he talked on the phone to this stranger. She felt sick and she prayed and prayed that Cal wouldn't come into the room. It was only half past eight but he'd had a long shift at work and was feeling exhausted. When Ethan sighed and hung up, she knew that it was bad news.

"He said that he was never in a relationship with anyone called Jane," he told her. "And that I should mind my own business and that I should take my prank calls elsewhere."

"It might not even be any of these men," Lily said. "Not everyone in the world is in the phone book, Ethan."

"It might be," Ethan said. "We can't give up."

"But every phone call is going to be like this, isn't it?" Lily asked. "They'll all accuse us of prank calling."

"Hey, he was in a bad mood before I'd even asked him the question," Ethan said. "Come on, let's ring someone else okay? They won't all be like that."

"Fine," Lily sighed. "Three left. Who do we ring next?"

"Chen Chao," Ethan said. "Did I pronounce that right?"

"Yeah, you did," Lily laughed.

There was no luck with him either. He was fairly nice, said that known someone called Jane at school but she'd had ginger hair and was now living in America studying performing arts. Ethan had a good chat with him but unfortunately he just wasn't Lily's father.

"Oliver," Lily said.

"Yeah," Ethan said and dialled the next number. "Hello, my name is Ethan Hardy and I just had a couple of questions for you. Were you ever in a relationship with someone called Jane?" There was a pause. "You were? Did you ever have kids?"

"What is he saying?" Lily whispered.

"Apparently Jane told him he was a dad," Ethan whispered back, holding the phone away from his ear. "But he never met the kid. Yes," he quickly said and held the phone to his ear again. "The thing is, your daughter is here. She's called Lily, twenty six. Yeah." Ethan was getting all excited and soon he turned to face Lily. "He wants to talk to you."

"What?" Lily choked back a sob as she continued to scratch her arms. "N...No..."

"You can do it," Ethan encouraged and held the phone out to her. "Go on."

Lily shakily held out a hand and took the phone from him. "H...Hello..." She stuttered nervously into the phone. "D...Dad. It's me."

But as soon as she spoke, the phone line suddenly went dead.

 **I hope you liked the chapter :)**


	23. The Visit

**ETWentHome: We'll soon see :)**

 **Agirlwithgreatpotential: Thank you :)**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: I'm glad you like it :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: I bet even Ethan was nervous but he held it together for Lily's sake. Hope you like this chapter :)**

Chapter Twenty Three: The Visit

Lily was slouched on the sofa with her stuffed Tigger clutched to her chest. She was staring intensely at one of her favourite shows that was on the TV and she hadn't moved all morning. Cal walked in whilst eating a bowl of cornflakes and tapped her leg with his foot.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" He asked with a mouthful of cereal.

"I'm not," Lily mumbled, moving her leg away from him.

"You are," he argued. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she sighed. "I just want to watch my programme."

"Well, are you okay with me going to work?" Cal asked. "You know I don't like leaving you on your own when you're like this but I can't go and have another day off. I mean, you could come with me if..."

"I don't want to," Lily interrupted, shooting him a death stare.

"I can look after her," Ethan offered, as he walked into the room. "I have the day off work anyway and I haven't made any plans at all. I don't mind."

"Are you sure?" Cal whispered and Ethan nodded at him. "Okay. I'll have my phone on me though, please ring me if you need something."

"She'll be fine," Ethan said and gave Lily's shoulder a rub. "She's probably just tired." Cal faintly nodded and headed back into the kitchen to wash up his spoon and empty bowl. "Cheer up," Ethan whispered and took a seat on the sofa beside Lily.

"Thanks for not telling," she whispered back. "And I can't. My dad doesn't want me, why would he anyway?"

"He probably just got cold feet," Ethan said and then added, "you know, got scared at the sound of your voice after all these years."

Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe."

"Here," Ethan sighed and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. He looked around for his brother and slowly passed it to Lily. "It's your dad's address," he told her, as she read what was on the paper.

"How did you get this?" She asked.

"I have my ways," he teased and winked at her. "We can go today if you like, whilst Cal's at work."

"Ethan," Lily whispered softly and shook her head. "I don't know. I tried talking to him on the phone and he hung up on me, what's he going to do if he sees me in person?" She sighed and turned to look Ethan in the eyes. "I'm just scared, Ethan."

"I know," he said. "But you don't have to be because I'll be there with you."

* * *

Ethan and Lily pulled up outside one of the houses in the street. Ethan double checked the address and nodded at Lily, telling her that they were there. Lily anxiously fiddled with her necklace and gulped nervously before stepping out of the car.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Ethan asked.

"Yes please." Lily nodded thankfully at him.

She and Ethan slowly walked up to the front door and Ethan knocked on the door, before giving Lily's hand a squeeze. A tall man in jeans and a football t-shirt answered.

"Are you um...Oliver Chao?" Lily stuttered, staring intensely at the stranger who could be her dad.

"That's me," he replied. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lily," Lily introduced herself straight away. "Your daughter."

"Daddy!" A small voice called and a little girl appeared at the man's side. She was petite with black curly hair, looking around the age of five. "Daddy, you promised that we could watch Dora together."

"Um...One second sweetheart..." Oliver said to her and she immediately ran off. "Look, you need to go because my wife will be back any second."

"This is your daughter," Ethan spoke up. "The baby who Jane gave up twenty six years ago before killing herself. You are her only family and you don't want to speak to her. What kind of man are you?"

"Ethan, leave it," Lily hissed quietly and gave him a shake of the head.

"I have another family now," Oliver whispered, his eyes fixated on Lily. "Jane and I, we never loved each other. Lily was just an accident from a one night stand, your mum was sick, crazy, not right in the head and I couldn't live with that. Of course I've been longing to see you all these years but then Rosaline came along and I realised that I had to move on. You should as well, Lily."

"But..." Lily went to say, tears pricking her eyes.

"I don't want you to contact me again," Oliver then added and slammed the door shut in their faces.

Lily allowed the tears to slowly roll down her cheeks and Ethan just placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. They could hear the sound of Dora the Explorer along with a giggling little girl and when they looked through the window, they saw Oliver and the small five year old having some daddy and daughter time.

"I'm so sorry, Lily," Ethan apologised. "I didn't know that was going to happen."

"It isn't your fault," Lily whispered. "I should know by now that people don't want me."

"Hey," Ethan soothed, as they made their way back to the car. "You have Cal and you have me."

"But you're not my real family," Lily sobbed.

"That doesn't matter," Ethan whispered. He cupped Lily's face in his hands, stroked her cheeks gently with his thumbs and leaned in, kissing her lovingly on the lips.

 **Enjoy :)**


	24. Cracked Open

**Guest: Thank you. So do I :)**

 **sweeet-as-honey: He must have really panicked. I knew you would be, it seemed like the right time to start their romantic journey :)**

 **Is-there-somewhere-x: At least she has Ethan :)**

Chapter Twenty Four: Cracked Open

"Lily!"

Lily was surprised to hear Cal shouting angrily to her the next morning. She'd been in her bedroom working on her dolls house before they headed to the ED at the time, but Cal's voice interrupted her. She hated it when he was angry.

"Lily!"

"What?" Lily called back anxiously.

"Could you come here for me, please?" He asked. "Now!"

Lily placed her doll on the floor and cautiously exited the bedroom. Cal was in the kitchen, leaning against one of the counters whilst flicking through the post.

"Care to explain this to me?" He asked and handed her a folded up piece of paper. "It was shoved through our letterbox. God knows how he even got our address, hmm?"

Lily opened up the note and scanned it over. It was a whole written letter of apology from her dad, explaining how he was sorry for the way things turned out and even though they'll never see each other again, he still loved her.

"I...I don't know how he got the address..." Lily whispered, avoiding eye contact with Cal. "He probably looked it up online or something."

"I don't even care, Lily," Cal snapped. "You're getting yourself too obsessed and fixated again. You went to see him, didn't you?" Lily hung her head and faintly nodded. "I've tried to be kind towards you ever since your diagnosis but it's too hard. I tell you not to do something but you just go right ahead and do it anyway. It's ridiculous."

"I just wanted to see him," Lily answered quietly, tears pricking her eyes. "He's my dad, Cal."

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Cal said. "I'm your brother. Did Ethan go with you?"

Lily faintly nodded.

"For goodness sake, Lily!" Cal shouted and ran a hand through his head. "When will you ever learn?"

"You don't understand!" Lily screamed in tears and ripped up the note from her dad. "You don't understand what it's like to be autistic!" And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the kitchen.

* * *

"Lily, for crying out loud!" Zoe shouted, as Lily climbed over the reception desk to try and get away from her. "What the hell has got into you? Get back here now before I call Connie over."

"What's going on?" Charlie asked and came to stand next to Zoe.

"Lily's kicking off," Zoe said, glancing towards Lily who was now leaning against the wall with her head hung. "And I have no idea why. Cal's disappeared so it isn't like I can ask him."

"Lily!" Charlie shouted.

Lily looked up and went to run off again but Charlie quickly grabbed hold of her to stop her from going anywhere. Lily screamed and thrashed about in his arms, wanting to be let go.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed, throwing herself on the floor.

"Okay, calm down now," Charlie soothed.

"Leave me alone!" Lily repeated, attempting to punch Charlie in the face. She screamed and just lay on her back, hitting her head against the floor at full force. "I hate you! I fucking hate you!"

"Charlie, do something," Zoe said. "She's going to seriously injure herself otherwise."

As if on queue, Lily let out a piercing scream. Charlie dropped her arm and Zoe jumped back slightly, before crouching at Lily's side to soon see what she was screaming about. She'd been continuously whacking her head against the hard floor and now her hair was suddenly soaked in blood.

"You silly girl," Zoe said, trying to examine Lily's wound. "Charlie, go and get Connie," she sighed. "She's gone and cracked her head open."

Charlie nodded and stood up straight. "I'm on it."

"Lily, what are we going to do with you?" Zoe asked, as Lily just sat there and sobbed. "Come on, we'll get you fixed up don't worry."

"I had an argument with Cal this morning," Lily cried.

"Is that why you were kicking off?" Zoe asked. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and held it to Lily's head to try and stop the bleeding. "What was the argument about?"

"Ethan and I went to see my dad," Lily said between sobs. "We found his details and we went to see him."

"And I don't suppose Cal was very happy with this?" Zoe said and Lily shook her head.

"Lily!" Connie called, storming over to the scene. "Lily, darling. What happened? What have you done?"

Lily immediately burst into tears and Zoe wasn't quite sure if it was from what had happened with Cal or from the searing pain in her head. Lily sat upright and wrapped her arms around Connie's neck, burying her face in her blouse.

"Okay lovely," Connie soothed. "Come on. The back of your head is covered in blood so let's get you into a cubicle, yeah?"

"I want Ethan," Lily sobbed.

"We'll get him, don't worry," Connie said, taking the tissue from Zoe and continuing to dab at Lily's injury, "Cal?" She mouthed to her over the top of Lily's head but Zoe just shook her head, a sign that told Connie to stop talking. "This is why we always tell you not to hit your head on the floor," Connie said, guiding Lily into an empty cubicle. "Because this happens."

"I'm sorry," Lily cried.

"Come here," Connie sighed. Lily sat on the bed and Connie stood at her side, inspecting her wound. "That's going to need stitches."

"I...I told Zoe..." Lily whispered. "Can I tell you as well?"

"Tell me what?" Connie asked. "You can tell me anything honey, you know that."

"Ethan and I saw my dad," Lily said. "But when Cal found out, he was angry so we argued and I shouted at him. Ethan came with me and I liked that, then we kissed."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Connie laughed. "Slow down. You and Ethan kissed?" Lily nodded. "Well I am very happy for you, Ethan is a good guy. What's all this about finding your dad though?"

"Ethan and I found his details," Lily said. "Then we went to see him. I just wanted to see what he was like but Cal didn't like it."

"Okay," Connie sighed. "I would like to talk to you more about this and I am also going to talk to Cal and Ethan as well. Why don't we look at getting your head fixed up first though, eh?"

"Sure," Lily agreed and looked down at the floor. "That sounds good."


	25. Lily's Family

**Is-there-somewhere-x: It was really cute :)**

 **ETWentHome: It is and we'll soon see :)**

Chapter Twenty Five: Lily's Family

"I'm sorry," Cal apologised as he sat in the office with Connie and Zoe. "I shouldn't have yelled at her like that but I...I don't know what to do. Since...Since she was diagnosed, I guess I've been finding it a little hard to cope with."

"Lily doesn't want you to treat her any differently," Connie said. "She's always behaved like this Cal. It's only because she has a diagnosis, isn't it? Because you used to be so good with her."

"I know," Cal whispered. "I feel like I've let mum down."

"Why?" Zoe asked.

"I'm not sure." Cal shrugged his shoulders. "I...I've let Ethan live with us and she wouldn't have liked that but I...I've not been looking after Lily properly. I've been yelling at her, getting impatient and annoyed."

"You didn't let her down," Connie said. "Your mum would be very proud of you. You've been an excellent brother to Lily."

"Thanks," Cal said quietly.

"Look," Connie sighed. "I'm going to ask you something and I would like an honest answer. Do you feel a bit jealous, now that...That Ethan has come into Lily's life as well?"

"I guess," Cal replied. "A little bit."

"You will always be first in Lily's life," Zoe said. "You've been there for her since she was a baby. You're her brother, even if you're not blood related."

"Lily's a severe case," Connie said. "She may look completely normal but she's never going to be able to live alone. She'll need you for the rest of her life Cal and it's up to you whether you want to give up on her or give it another go and be there for her."

"I'd never give up on her," Cal said. "Never."

"There you go then," Connie said and gently nudged his arm.

"I just don't want Ethan to let her down," Cal said. "Lily isn't capable of love and she...She may not be able to have a normal relationship."

"That's Ethan's choice," Connie said. "And Lily's as well. She seems to like him though and I think that he does really care about her. Let them be happy because Lily is never going to shove you to one side."

"I think you've got some apologising to do," Zoe said. "Why don't you go and find Lily? Then the two of you can talk."

Cal nodded faintly and stood up to leave the office. Lily was sitting up in bed in a cubicle, colouring in one of her Art Therapy books. Cal smiled when he saw the picture of the cat that she was working on, it looked like Monty.

"How are you feeling?" Cal sighed, stroking her hair.

"It hurts a bit," Lily said. "I had stitches."

"Well, you're silly then for slamming your head against the floor," Cal chuckled, but Lily didn't seem to take it as a joke. "Hey," he added. "I love you, do you know that?"

"You don't act like it," Lily said. "You used to be really fun. Now you just get angry with me."

"That's not your fault," Cal said. "It's me. I...I get way too impatient and I shouldn't. Do you forgive me?"

"Can we watch a film tonight?" Lily asked. "With popcorn?"

"Sure," Cal agreed and ruffled her hair playfully. "If that's what it takes for you to forgive me. And from now on, I am going to work on my patience. Do you really like Ethan?" Lily nodded. "Then if you do..." Cal sighed. "I don't mind if you'd like to go out with him."

"How did you know that we kissed?" Lily whispered.

"Well, I didn't know that you kissed," he laughed. "But I've seen the way you look at him and I've seen the way he looks at you. You like each other."

"I've never had a boyfriend," Lily admitted quietly and continued to colour in the cat picture. "It's nice."

"Love is," Cal said and gestured to the book. "Can I help?"

"As long as you stay in the lines," Lily said and handed him a red pencil crayon.

Cal smiled and began to help Lily colour in her picture. The two of them just sat there in silence colouring before the door opened and Ethan walked in. He smiled at the sight and walked over to check if Lily was okay.

"Can I give you a hug?" He asked and Lily faintly and anxiously gave him a nod. "I'll be quick," Ethan said and wrapped his arms around her. "Brave girl."

"Ethan, thanks for helping me look for my dad," Lily thanked him when they'd pulled away. "But I think I'm going to stop now."

"Why is that?" Cal asked.

"Because you're the only family I need," Lily said. "He doesn't want me and he has a family of his own. I know who he is now and that...That was all I wanted to know. I don't need him."

"You're amazing," Cal said and gave her a hug. "I love you, you're my little sister and you always will be. We're family."

"Am I still allowed to stay, Cal?" Ethan asked. "I've told Dad that I'm not going to work for him anymore. I've had enough."

"Of course," Cal said and the two brothers did a knuckle touch. "But I don't want any kissing or making out whilst I am in the house. Keep it to yourselves."

"You're disgusting," Lily giggled and cracked up laughing. "Is it okay if Ethan helps us with the colouring?" She asked. "He may be a bit neater than you."

"Cheeky," Cal joked. "I think I can make an exception though."

"Ethan, help us," Lily said and handed him a pencil as well. Ethan nodded and began colouring part of the picture. "Cal," Lily said. "I...I love you, you're the best brother in the world."

"Thank you," Cal said.

And he knew that Lily meant it as well. It was the first time she had ever said anything like that.


	26. Always There

**ETWentHome: Thank you, I felt that a sweet chapter was needed. Last one now :)**

 **Happy Easter everyone! Don't eat too much chocolate, I have that habit every Easter haha. Let's celebrate with the very last chapter of Temporary Home. Enjoy :)**

Chapter Twenty Six: Always There

"So where does this bit go?" Cal asked, as he and Lily lay on their stomachs in front of Lily's dolls house. He was holding up a small piece of furniture and the two of them had been working on it all morning.

Lily just shrugged her shoulders. "Wherever you like," she answered him.

"Really?" He asked. "I thought that everything had to be in a certain place."

"I trust you," Lily laughed and got back to sticking up the wallpaper in one of the dolls house rooms.

"Guys," Ethan called and knocked on the door, before opening it up. "Lily, Cal. Hey guys, um...Julie is here. She's in the living room, I've made her a cup of tea and stuff. Shall I tell her to wait for a bit?"

"She's early," Lily remarked, glancing at her watch.

"No thanks bro," Cal chuckled. "I'm coming. Just wait with Lily for a bit, she'll probably want to speak with me first."

Ethan nodded and took Cal's place on the floor, so he could go and talk to their support worker. Lily and Ethan smiled at each other and Ethan slowly leaned across and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"What was that for?" Lily whispered.

"You're beautiful," Ethan told her straight out. "And I love you."

"Thank you," Lily said but then suddenly remembered what Cal and Ethan had been teaching her. "Sorry, I mean I...I love you too."

"It's okay," Ethan said. "Honestly, I understand." They suddenly heard Cal calling from the living room. "I think Cal wants you," Ethan said. "Come on, I'll come as well."

Ethan and Lily left the bedroom and saw Cal and Julie both sitting on the sofa in the living room. Julie immediately smiled and gave Lily a hug, patting the space on the sofa between her and Cal.

"So Cal tells me you've been getting on really well," she said. "You should be proud of yourself."

"Yeah," Lily whispered shyly and shrugged her shoulders. "I...I am..."

"So tell me about the good stuff," Julie encouraged. "What's been happening?"

"Ethan's my boyfriend now," Lily said, grinning from ear to ear and glancing across at him. "So that's made me really happy."

"Well, I'm very pleased for you," Julie praised. "So, Cal tells me that you found your dad. Is that right?" Lily sniffed and gave a nervous nod. "It didn't end too good, did it? How do you feel about that?" Lily hung her head and shrugged her shoulders. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, Lily."

"I'm okay," Lily told her in a quiet voice. "I have Cal," she added, leaning into him so that he could wrap an arm round her. "I um...I guess I didn't realise that he...He's my real family. Family isn't who you're really related to, it's who is there for you and who cares about you."

"That's very true," Julie said. "So you're okay then?"

"Yeah, I am," Lily replied. "He's my brother."

"It sounds like the two of you are getting on really well," Julie said. "So my suggestion is that I see you in two months time."

"Two months?" Cal panicked. "But...But what if...What if we need you before then?"

"Don't worry," Julie laughed. "If you need me before then, just give me a call or pop me an email."

"Okay," Cal said and gave Lily's shoulder a rub. "Thank you."

* * *

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Ethan asked and Lily nodded. "Are you really okay with not seeing your dad again?" Lily hesitated and shrugged her shoulders, unsure of what to say.

"I think so," she replied. "I guess, Cal has been the one there for me all these years and I never really realised that he was the only family I really needed. I was just too fixated on finding out who my real family was."

"So you're really okay with it?"

"Yeah." Lily smiled at him. "I am. Can I ask you a question now?"

"Of course you can," Ethan said. "What's on your mind?"

"Do you really like me?" Lily asked. "I mean, you can have any girl out there, any...Normal girl. You go for me instead."

"Of course I like you, Lils," Ethan said and stroked her cheek. "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"But I...I can't do things that a normal person can do," Lily said.

"That doesn't matter to me," Ethan said. "Because I love you. Okay?"

"I...I love you too," Lily whispered and flung her arms around him.

"And I love you," Ethan said and kissed her on the forehead. "This is your home now, with me and Cal. Even if it is just temporary."

 **I hope you liked the story. It's probably one of my favourites that I've written. I have a new story coming soon so stay tuned for it, I hope you'll all continue to review my new stories.**


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